


The Kings Capture

by Fire_Cat



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), The Yogscast
Genre: Gen, Kidnapping, Minor Violence, Original Character(s), POV First Person, Possession, Strong Language, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-04-23 11:30:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4875103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Cat/pseuds/Fire_Cat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ridgedog has taken the Sapling King, Martyn Littlewood, captive, and, as usual, refuses to make things easy. Toby is determined to get his big brother back, but in doing so, he must put his life, and the lives of his friends, in great danger. Going against the demigod is never a good idea, but the adventure is made even harder when Toby discovers that someone much more powerful is watching his every step. Chances of survival are thin, but they must bring the King back to his Kingdom before it's too late..</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Kings Disappearance

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically just a writing experiment that got out of hand. Updates will be slow but I'll gradually make my way through it. I have no idea how long this will be as a whole. But the chapters themselves get very long later on.  
> The first few chapters are well over a year old, but I've revised them recently so they don't stick out too badly.. This story went on hiatus a while ago and I've only just gotten back to writing it..
> 
> My headcannons/AU consist of magical ability being genetic (Well, most kinds anyway.) So a lot of people carry it and can use it, but there's all sorts of types at different strengths and such. A lot of it will be explained in the story, but feel free to ask questions if your confused by something.  
> And my headcannons consist of just about every Youtube gamer I watch living relatively near one another, with the Sapling Kingdom kinda in the centre. So non-Yogs appear from time to time as well. Mostly only early on though.
> 
> POV changes almost every chapter. Switching between different characters to help progress the story.  
> The first chapter is told by Toby. I'll leave a note at the top of each chapter saying who the stories being told by :)  
> But yeah, um, that's enough notes. Enjoy the story :)

I run though town as quickly as I can, panting like a dog as my chest tightens, I can hardly breath, yet I don't dare slow down. I don't have long before it's all over, before he kills my best friend, but I can't stop him alone. I need help, and I know two people who would be perfect.

As I reach the edge of the Kingdom, the small cottages I'm heading towards come into view. I sprint down the estate and into the garden of the last house, jogging along the path and towards the door. I take a moment to catch my breath a little before I knock. I hear someone yelling from inside. Good, he's in. And after a minute or so, the door opens and a lilac cat stands in the doorway.

"Hey Toby." She smiles. "Everything ok? You look like you just ran a marathon."

"I...I kinda did....well...not really....." I say slowly, still trying to catch my breath. I start to feel dizzy so I lean against the wall to try to steady myself.

"You sure you're ok?" She says, worried, as she puts her hand on my shoulder, but almost instantly the world starts to go fuzzy. I hear her say my name and then everything goes black.

\----

I wake up a little while later. The first thing I hear is the sound of gentle music being played downstairs. I open my eyes slowly and look around, trying not to move to much. I'm laying in a room with posters of music notes and various musicians hanging from the walls. On the table beside the bed is a picture of Area 11. A guitar is propped up in the corner and a pile of striped jumpers are stacked next to the wardrobe. There's no doubt about it. This is Sparkles*' room.

I must have passed out. I don't remember coming up here. The last thing I do remember was standing outside the house trying to talk with Violet. I'm not in much of a rush to get up, my head hurts and I still feel a bit dizzy. I look around the room once more. My hoodie has seemingly disappeared, I can't see it in here. Must be downstairs somewhere.

I hear someone walking up the stairs and across the landing before the door opens slowly. The ginger haired musician I know so well pokes his head into the room and smiles.

"Glad to see you've woken up." He says. "Why where you so tired out? Did you run all the way from your house to get here?" I shake my head slowly and just manage to speak.

"No, I ran from the castle, but I can explain-"

"No. You need to get some rest." He cuts me off before I can finish. "I don't particularly like being dragged out of recording to help someone who's passed out on my doorstep. Not exactly a nice thing to happen so early in the day."

"Sorry," I mumble. "but its important. I can't hang around or it'll be too late." I say slightly louder as I begin to find my voice again, I carefully prop myself up on my elbows as he looks at me like I'm speaking another language.

"What the Nether are you talking about?" He says as he walks towards the bed, not bothering to close the door behind him.

"It's--It's Ridgedog, he took Martyn. I don't know why. But he left a note for me yesterday telling me to say my goodbyes. When I went to the castle this morning, he wasn't there and everyone was panicking and trying to figure out where he'd gone. I came here 'cos I thought you and maybe Violet would be able to help me get him back."

"Why us? Surely someone who know's Ridge a little better, like Lalna, would be a better person to run too." Sparkles* says with a concerned yet confused look on his face.

"Well, I don't really get along with Lalna, and you two are better in battle than I am. Besides, all that he'd do, is try to convince me that Ridge means no harm or try to get me to try out some fancy, highly dangerous invention he's come up with that only has a three percent chance of bringing Martyn back alive-" I want to continue but the singer stops me, perching on the edge of the bed before he speaks.

"Ok ok I get the idea. But you do realise that going up against Ridgedog is like going to the Nether with nothing but a wooden sword and a pair of rubber boots. He's a powerful man who has whole army's at his control. One false move and he'd stab you in the chest and not bother with respawning you in your bed. He's as close to evil as you'll get, even if demigods are supposed to help people. Why do you think he holds the Survival Games?" He says as he sits beside me. I sigh and don't say anything. I know what Sparkles* is trying to say. I know how dangerous Ridge is but... I can't leave Martyn to die... He's my best friend, he's my brother... He'd come after me... Wouldn't he....?


	2. Tortured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Martyn's POV

The room is silent. My eyes are closed. But I know that he's there. Watching me. Waiting for me to speak. To acknowledge him. But talking to him is the last thing on my mind. I don't know what he wants or why he brought me here. But what I do know is that he's chained me to the wall, cuffs on my wrists and ankles, holding me still, to stop me from running.

"I don't remember you being this quiet." He finally speaks. His soft, calm voice sends shivers down my spine but I still don't reply. "This is very unlike you." I feel him run his finger up my chest and stop against my throat, I raise my head as if trying to get him to leave me alone, I know I can't fight back, not in this state, I just don't understand...

I hear him take a few steps back, the solid soles of his boots in the silent room making his footsteps sound louder than they should against the cold concrete floor. 

The soft sound of flint hitting wood makes me aware of what he's about to do. I open my eyes ever so slightly behind my long blond hair, I can see the demigod drawing back his bow, a smirk on his face, as he releases the arrow, I close my eyes tightly and a sharp pain shoots up my left arm.

" **You bastard!!** " I scream at the top of my voice. I can tell he's smiling, he enjoys seeing others in pain. I never understood why, and I probably never will, as far as I know, that's the only reason he holds the Survival Games. To quench his blood-lust and to watch others suffer...

"So you are capable of speaking." He chuckles but with an awfully grim tone to his voice. There's no going back, he know's I can speak, and I know that if I'm not careful he'll kill me right here right now..

"What----what do you want?..... Ridgedog.." I mutter as he pulls the arrow from my arm, I try not to flinch as the pain grows, but with me suddenly being so weak all I can do is grit my teeth and let my blood catch on my shirt and drip onto the floor. I've been shot with arrows before, and I don't remember it being this painful, maybe it was because I had armour on or because I was stronger at the time... I just don't know..

"Hmm. I could tell you.." He starts. I open my eyes slightly so I can see the powerful man stood in front of me. He pulls a sword from his belt, that was hidden behind his long elegant coat and a twisted smile appears on his face. I feel sweat forming on my forehead as he approaches me. His long glossy brown hair casting dark shadows across his face and those jet black eyes that seem to be staring into my soul. I try to speak but I can't, and as the diamond blade scratches gently against the middle of my chest it tears through the thin fabric of my shirt and cuts though my skin with ease, and all that comes out of my mouth are groans of pain as the evil man tortures me slowly. "Or I could just leave you guessing.." He finishes, speaking in a deep, dark tone that'd give anyone nightmares.

"How----How can----I do what---What you want me----to----if you don't tell me----what it is you want..." I say quietly between gasps for air as Ridge puts the now bloody sword back into its sheath.

"Oh Martyn, you'll see soon enough. As for now though. I want to make sure your weak. And you know what it feels like to not be a powerful and seemingly unstoppable force, and so you know that you're not invincible." He says , his voice emotionless. I don't know why he's saying that, he'll take any chance he can get to show off his powers, his seemingly unlimited demigod magic.. I know that I'm strong, but I've never considered myself to be invincible.. Without another word, he turns on his heel and walks out the room, locking the iron door behind him.

Tears start to fall from my eyes as the reality of everything starts to sink in. I don't know where I am or why I'm here. I don't know what he wants from me either. He's using me. I'm sure of it. But how? I wish I knew what was going on. Why did Ridgedog bring me here and what could he possibly gain from it. I just hope he doesn't hurt my friends. But then again, they're probably trying to find a way to get me home, or at least, I know that Toby will be... Right?.....


	3. Looking for Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toby's POV
> 
> Um. I do tend to go a little OTT with the exposition and such, as this chapter and several others prove. I apologise ^^;  
> But it does add to the story and helps with the plot usually. So yeah..

Walking though town at nine in the morning isn't exactly new to me. When I was younger, Martyn would often come knocking on my door at the crack of dawn asking if I wanted to go for a run in the woods outside The Kingdom. We'd spend a lot of are time together in the forest, climbing trees and swimming in the lakes and ponds that are scattered throughout it. We were safe there and could do anything we wanted too without anyone else knowing. The only thing that stopped our regular visits was Martyn's increasing responsibilities as king. It was fine when he was still just a Prince, before his parents left him, but we both knew that one day he'd have to take control. We just didn't know when.

We're lucky that we've stayed as close as we have actually. For a good year or so after his coronation we hardly ever saw each other, with me living at one side of The Kingdom and him living at the other. It's hard to keep a strong friendship when you're so far apart. Thankfully, after The Kingdom had been returned to its former glory, he had more time to spend with his friends. I was still young at the time, but I remember the two of us being reunited like it was yesterday. I guess my ten-year old mind made me think that he'd forgotten me, after all, he is a few years older than me. When I was a child of ten he was a young man of sixteen, he was growing up and I was still just a kid.. I am still just a kid.. But the age gap never bothered me, it bothered my parents before they.. Vanished.. I don't know why, Martyn is hardly the kind of person they could argue with me being friends with, but it never affected me. He has all my trust and he always will, he's always been there to protect me, ever since we first met when I was little. Very little.

I've always been good at getting myself into trouble, that can't be denied. I'd probably have been dead years ago if Martyn hadn't been there by my side. I'm starting to think I rely a little too much on him. Maybe I'd be stronger if I didn't expect him to come and help me when ever I took a wrong turn or made a bad move. I carry a sword I can hardly use, I'm hopeless with a bow and I can only just get up a tree, but not quickly. Unlike him, he's an expert swordsman, his accuracy is unrivalled - Well, maybe by Sjin or Lomadia, who are also very good - and he can clamber up a twenty-foot tree in a few seconds. And whilst I know it's not true, I have thought that the only reason he stays with me is 'cos if he doesn't, then I'll end up being blown sky-high by a creeper..

Some things don't change, but most things do. And I'm scared that one day, he won't be there for me, or he'll get himself killed trying to protect me. I don't know what I'd do with myself if that happened, I don't think I'd be able to stay in The Kingdom anymore knowing my actions caused the Kings death. Facing the consequences of something like that would be unbearable for me...

\---------

I'm woken from my daydream by Sparkles*' voice before I walk into something- or someone.

"Watch where your going - Oh hi Toby!" I hear an over excited voice say and I recognise it instantly. I look up and see a tall, brown-haired man in dark glasses staring at me with a massive smile on his face.

"Hey Sky..." I mutter, not really in the mood to talk to others, especially him, he's a nice guy but doesn't quite seem to understand the meaning of 'Be quiet'.

"What's wrong?" He asks, looking confused but still smiling. I see Sparkles* shake his head in the corner of my eye. The gold loving loony shrugs and turns on his heel to face Leo, who apparently decided to tag along. I don't really listen to what there saying to each other but since Sky has been teaching Leo how to fly - Since, despite having wings, the drummer was never taught and he doesn't have much magic to help out, whilst Sky hardly ever touches the ground 'cos he flies everywhere and has a ridiculously strong air element to go with it- he's probably here to talk to him about lessons and what not. I just stand there and pull my hood up over my head, I don't really care to be honest. I'm not gonna lie though, if I were Leo, I'd think about picking a new teacher, not that I have a problem with Sky, he's a good guy, he's just so easily distracted. I'd start to get annoyed after a while..

After a couple of minutes, Sky and Leo wander off towards the park and leave Violet, Sparkles* and myself on our own. Oh and Kogie, didn't see him either, maybe I should pay more attention...

We leave The Kingdom and head towards the castle on the horizon, its only a mile or so away but walking there takes forever thanks to the hilly landscape and countless rivers that run though the area.

It wasn't my idea to talk to the mad scientist. No no, it was Violet's, she's good friends with him and since he know's Ridge well she decided it would be a good idea to talk to him. Although half the time I talk to him I can hardly understand a word he's saying. Simply 'cos he uses a ton of scientific gibberish that isn't needed and isn't really very good at explaining things.

We wander past Sips Co. and see Sjin hovering above the compound with his jet-pack. He waves down at us and the others wave back, I just look up at him and muster a small smile. He looks down and rolls his eyes before dropping to the ground, probably being called by Sips. I dread to think what goes on behind those walls, actually, I don't think I really wanna know..

"I didn't realise Sjin was still working there." Kogie says, reminding me the bass player is also here with us.

"Yeah, I think he's jumping between the factory and his farm." Violet smiles. No one replies though. 

We stay silent as we pass Honeydew Inc. and hear Xephos screaming at Honeydew from inside the marble building. I didn't realise they were still here to be honest, I thought they left to work on other things. Maybe they've just come back to get some supplies or whatever. I'm still not sure what the point in setting up all these factories was. I remember when they first arrived a few years ago, after their old home was destroyed by a nuclear explosion.. Three nuclear explosions.. Me, Martyn and Zekkyou rode out there on horse back to see what had happened and ended up bringing the majority of the village population back to the Kingdom. Most of the people moved away to other cities and towns and the ones who stayed either settled in and lived there lives like everyone else or built massive structures on the outside of The Kingdom. Blackrock Stronghold and the Sips Co. Skyscraper to name a couple.

Once we pass the Jaffa Factory there's no other signs of civilisation for at least an hour. Other than trees and animals there's nothing here, but yet it seems so familiar...

As we approach the castle we hear a series of small explosions coming from behind the force field that surrounds the scientists home, yet we take no notice since its quite normal for him to be blowing things up.

"Oh for Notch's sake!!" We hear him yell from the inside.

"Lalna! You there!?" Violet calls as we stand in front of the orb of energy. I look up at the castle, it seems bigger than last time I came here, then again, I rarely come here so it wouldn't surprise me if he's added to it.

"Give me a minute!" Lalna yells and we see him fly up towards the roof of one of the towers towards a box, which I'm guessing controls the force field. He presses some buttons and the orb fades away, allowing us to get in, we step though and the moment were all on his land the energy appears again behind us. Sealing us in.

He flies down and lands in front of us. Goggles covering his eyes, his lab coat is burnt and torn and stained with blood like usual, and his dark blonde hair's a mess. He takes his goggles off and lets them rest on his head.

"What brings you four here?" He asks as he presses a button on his on the shoulder of his coat, the button starts to glow a pale orange and the jet-pack folds up and seems to disappear. That's new.

"We came to talk about Ridgedog." Sparkles* says calmly. Lalna's eye's widen and his cheeks turn pink. It's quite funny actually, the poor guy tries to hide his feelings for Ridge but everyone knows he likes him as more than just a friend.

"Wh-What about him..?" The blonde stutters.

"Lets just say that he's taken Martyn captive and since you know Ridge best we, well, Violet, decided that we should talk to you about what he wants and why he thinks he can just kidnap my big brother." I say quickly, a quiet growl coming from the back of my throat as I finish.

"Hmm, O-Ok...Come with me..." Lalna says, stuttering slightly, still blushing as he turns around and opens the doors to let us in. We follow him into the castle and up one of the towers - I don't plan on using teleporters again mind you, they make me feel dizzy.. - I'm the last to reach the top and, whilst trying to walk straight, I see the Scientist stood at one of his computers, typing something in. We stand and watch. Hoping he can help..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'The Old World', as it's called, is more of a small village than a separate world in this AU. There's a few mentions of it, so it's worth keeping that in mind.
> 
> Also, I'm really bad at chapter titles, can you tell? >


	4. Taunted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Martyn's POV  
> Back to Mr Littlewood for this chapter. And more Ridgedog. Can never have too much Ridgedog.

I still don't understand why I'm here. I wish I did though 'cos I'm honestly scared.. I don't say that very often, even when I am truly frightened, I hide it, for Toby's sake. He's already cowardly enough. If I showed my fear then he'd lose hope in getting out of a dodgy situation alive, and its hard enough getting him to stay positive at the best of times.  
Not that I have a problem with him being that way, it's why he's my best friend. It's just that sometimes I feel like I'm the one causing him to act weak, when I know that deep down he's rather powerful. He just doesn't show it. He may not be particularly fast on his feet or good with a bow. But, when he wants to be, he can be a very strong swordsman. I've known him long enough to see that. 

When he was younger he showed great skill with a sword. It wasn't until he was around ten, when we got split up in the woods after dark, that he changed.. And not for the better.. 

I spent all night looking for him, but didn't find him until the next morning. He was huddled up against a tree, asleep but still whimpering with fear. I took him home and tried to ask him what had happened. But he wouldn't speak. His parents thought it was my fault that their son had become frightened of everything that moved, and wouldn't let me come in the house. I had to look for him in town and talk with him then when his mum and dad weren't around, not that he ever said much. It took a few months before he started to recover from that incident. But he never became who he was. He was never willing to fight or even attack the dummies I'd set up to help him learn. He was petrified of everything and I didn't understand why. I still don't know why that happened. But whatever it was, something that was lurking in the forest that night, has had a massive effect on Toby's personality. I suppose it was partly my fault. I shouldn't have run ahead and left him behind. We never went back to that part of the woodlands, and if we needed to head in that direction we'd take a different route.

It was around that time that I started to sense cracks in my parents relationship. I was only sixteen or so but I knew something was up. Constant arguments coming from downstairs and the fact they acted like nothing was wrong when I was around made me even more suspicious. At the very least I expected a break up. But trust me, waking up in the morning and finding your house completely dark and empty isn't exactly fun, especially when your house is as big as mine. I wasn't aware that they were planning on abandoning me, they didn't even leave a note they just...disappeared. They must have left in a hurry to, because all their stuff was still there.

They left the Kingdom in quite a state as well. Over the years that they'd been in charge the once beautiful city had become dry and desolate. The trees in The Kingdom itself had died off and many people had left and moved elsewhere. And those that stayed didn't seemed to care that the King and Queen had fled, if anything they seemed happy I would be taking over. That was part of the reason I spent so much of my time in the forests growing up. My home wasn't what it used to be, but the woodlands surrounding it were green and growing. I'd only seen pictures of what the Kingdom had been like before my mum and dad took control, since it was before I was born. And when I found out that I'd have to become King. I made it my goal to bring my home back to life and return it back to its former glory. A goal I eventually managed to achieve.

Unfortunately, having to spend so much of my time doing 'royal duties' and what not, I didn't have much time to spend with Toby and my other friends for about a year or so after my coronation...

About a year or two after the forest incident, Toby's parents just seemed to disappear as well. Which didn't help since he was still pretty shy and only seemed to feel safe when he was around me. He stayed at the castle for a couple of years until he turned fifteen. And then moved into his own home. Although for a few months after he moved there he'd come knocking at my door at crazy hours saying he didn't want to be alone. Not that I blame him, learning to live by yourself was difficult for me too. Luckily he got over it quite quickly, and I managed to sort my sleep schedule out again...

**\----**

I'm still not sure on exactly what is happening. I don't remember being brought here, being locked, up or how I ended up here in the first place. The last thing I remember was going to bed, completely clueless about what Ridge was planning. And to be fair, it had been several months since I'd last seen the demigod.

I never understood him. I doubt I ever will. He's a strange man with evil intentions, or at least, that's how he seems to act. His sense of humour is as dark as the void and once a year he appears in The Kingdom with little golden envelopes in his hands, dishing them out to me and my friends. Basically notifying us that he's planning his next Survival Games and wants us to be ready. Even if he only gives us a week or so to 'prepare'. It's difficult to prepare for a match to the death. I'm not gonna lie though, I've done pretty well in his Games. I've won two of them, come second in another and made it into the final ten in the others. (Not bragging or anything) But the feeling of death is just horrid. Especially when you're badly wounded and die of blood loss or infection. You just want it to end quickly. Which is why its best to stay hidden until you have enough gear to not be murdered by the first person you stumble upon. And then of course, just to top it all off, there's Ridge's little respawning spell. Which is just as bad. It's not a gentle awakening, it's a sudden jolt like being scared awake and it leaves you coughing and spluttering and gasping for breath. Yeah. Not fun.

I'm pretty sure the only time I've ever seen Ridge smile without a devilish look in his eye is when he's with Lalna. Which says a lot really. There's something going on between those two, we all know it. I often see Ridge flying over the Kingdom towards the scientists castle. And, on occasion, I've seen the two of them wondering though town, laughing and saying things I don't really understand. Sciencey things probably.

Observing him and trying to work out what he's planning without actually talking to him is virtually impossible. I've known him for a good five or six years and the announcements of his Games still catch me off guard.

And I suppose he caught me off guard with this little scheme of his. Then again, it's not like I could have expected to be kidnapped.

**\----**

I miss my home, I miss my friends. I don't like it here. I have no idea how much time has passed and I'm absolutely starving. I haven't heard from Ridge for about an hour, or at least, it feels like an hour. Though it's probably only been a few minutes.

The cut on my chest has stopped bleeding but the arrow wound on my arm still stings. I'm just about conscious...I think... and I have a horrible feeling there's someone in the room with me.

"G---Go---A--Away...." I just manage to mumble, not sure if I'm talking to my self or if there is someone there.

"Oh you are awake." I hear that deep, smooth voice say. I take a few deep breaths before trying to respond.

"I--I knew---I knew that you where here. Very sneaky. Creeping in without a sound." I say with a slight tint of anger in my voice. I can tell he's smiling. I can't see him, but I still know.

"Hm, yeah. Being able to fly certainly helps." He smirks. He's lucky he is, he can fly without wings or a jet-pack. He doesn't even use a ring like Lalna and Rythian used to. He can hover and soar though the air with his ridiculous magic. Friendly tip, if you see him and his eyes are glowing gold. _Run the fuck away!_ "But seriously, Martyn. Still thinking about why you're here?" He continues.

"Yes. But I don't know. But you will tell me, Ridgedog. Even if I have to force you to!" I suddenly manage to find my voice and start speaking a lot loader than I'd like.

"You, force me!? Ha! Good luck with that LittleWood! You're not going anywhere as long I have anything to do with it. You're going to wait here until I'm done with you." He laughs but it quickly turns into a scowl. I open my eyes slowly and stare at him. He glares back, a cheeky smirk on his face, with those perfect teeth and dark eyes, it's not hard for him to send shivers down my spine.

"So you're just gonna let me starve." I say, smiling slightly.

"Hmm, I suppose I should feed you. I'll get someone else to do it later. I have things I need to do. I've got an arena to build." He smiles as he walks out the room. Once again, locking the door behind him.

I'm not gonna lie, Ridge is a great builder, and the Games arenas are structurally very impressive, but I wish he'd put his skills to good use instead of, well, doing what he does. He said he was building another arena. Which means that he's planning on putting together another Survival Games. Possibly quite soon. Marvellous..


	5. Making a Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toby's POV

Something's not right here. I should be listening to what Lalna has to say but.. I can't. I'm to focused on the tiny cameras he has set up on the walls that are just...staring at me. For no reason. I try to act like I'm not bothered, but It's difficult, I know that they're looking at me, I'm stood a few metres from the others, and they keep moving slightly so they don't lose me when I move. I think about speaking up, about telling the scientist to stop teasing me, but I don't bother, the system is likely all automated, and programmed to track certain things, but why me?

After what seems like forever but is only really a few minutes, I'm brought back to the real world by an alarm being setting off.

"What the hell!" Lalna yells. Looking around.

 _"Dark Magic detected! Will destroy immediately"_ A robotic voice fills my ears. Lalna looks awfully confused and jumps across the room, clambering up onto the window sill and staring though the broken glass.

"There's no one here, stupid thing." He says, only just audible over the sirens that don't seem to be stopping. I turn towards him but something grabs be from behind and pulls me towards the wall.

"What the f**k! Lalna stop it!!" I scream, trying to break free.

"Lalna what's going on!?" Violet asks, sounding rather worried, yet furious at the same time. The scientist turns and stares for a moment. I'm about to speak before I feel something cold being held up against my head, I close my eyes and wait. I can hear Lalna clambering across the room and start to typing something into, what I'm guessing, is the control board for the security system. What ever was holding me let's go and I fall to the floor, completely speechless and slightly frightened. The alarms die down.

 _"Security shutting down."_ The robotic voice speaks again.

"No don't do that!" Lalna snaps, hitting the control panel. He sighs before walking over to me. "You ok friend? Not sure what that was about." He holds out his hand but I just stare.

"That wasn't funny." I mumble. "I knew the cameras were watching me but I didn't expect  
that."

"I'm not gonna lie to ya, Toby. I have to idea why that happened. Theres no reason that I can see as to why the system would target you." He says, but I don't belive him.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, Lalna." I snarl as I take his hand and he helps me to my feet. His hand is cold and it's not until I let go that I realise why. I always forget what's hidden under his right glove, you'd think that the buttons on the back of it would make it obvious, but I always end up forgetting. Considering half of his arm is robotic, he's very good at hiding it. If I hadn't been their when he first arrived here, broken and bloody, then I probably would never of found out that he has cybernetics hidden underneath his clothes.

"I swear it wasn't my fault." He smiles.

"Lalna, it said something about dark magic, what was that about? Toby's not a magician or anything, or at least not to my knowledge." Sparkles* says, slightly confused.  
"Sparkles* is right." I say. "I don't have any magical abilities, so why did it say that? Why's that even programmed into it?"

"The reason I programmed it that way was to keep Rythian out." The scientist says as he perches on his desk. "It's still buggy though, which is probably the only reason as to why it went for you." He continues.

"But it said 'dark magic'," Sparkles* starts. "Rythian doesn't use dark magic. He's probably just as much against it as everyone else. And I know you well Lalna, and I'm pretty sure that no bug or glitch you'd leave in something as important as a security system would cause it to detect dark powers coming from someone like Toby."

 

"Cheers.." I mumble but they don't seem to notice.

"Rythian's magic isn't dark, no, but if I set up the detectors to pick up Ender magic, the system would start screaming every time an Enderman came near.. Rythian's blood is laced with dark magic whether he likes it or not, that's what being like him will do to you. My system picks up that trait, even if he can't harness it." Lalna shrugs. But no one gets a chance to respond.

"You have a point Sparks, but we have more important things to worry about. Like finding out where Martyn is." Violet speaks up, seeming to ignore what Lalna said. The two musicians nod in agreement.

"Like I said before, Ridge is probably keeping him in Pangea. But the city's so big it would be difficult to locate them. That and, well, I'm not gonna lie, I don't actually know how to get there." Lalna says. I try to act like I know what he's talking about but, I really don't. I should have been listening to him before, but I was to focused on other things..

"How do you not know where Pangea is. You and Ridge are so close, surely he's taken you to his home before." Kogie says and the scientist just sighs and blushes slightly. I can't help but smile a little, any mention of Ridgedog in that way and it makes Lalna go all red-faced.

"He's very...secretive. About that kind of thing. You should know that. He doesn't want us to know where the city is, so that when he takes us to his Survival Games, we can't try to escape and run home. Not that we'd even be able to get out of the arena but there we go. Or so that we can't go knocking at his door for whatever reason." Lalna says, trying to sound like nobody mentioned his and Ridge's friendship but not really succeeding.

"That's something you'd jump at the chance to do, getting to see Ridge whenever the nether you felt like it." I say louder than I realise and both Violet and Lalna just glare at me, the latter looking rather embarrassed and close to storming out the room in anger. "What?" I say looking up at them.

"Don't tease him Toby, it's not funny." The lilac feline says rather flatly and I can see Sparkles* and Kogie holding back laughter.

"Why do I even bother..." The scientist sighs, I hope he knows that we all know how he  
feels, it should be rather easy to tell.

"Sorry Lalna." I say, trying not to laugh. "I didn't mean it." I cover my mouth to hide the massive smile creeping across my face.

"Yeah sure whatever." Lalna mutters as he flicks a switch on the wall and hops off his desk. A holographic screen pops up from the table. He turns his back to us and starts moving things around on the screen. I can't read the writing, it doesn't look Minecraftian, probably some scientific gibberish that I don't understand. Then again this is Lalna we're talking about so it could be anything.

After several minutes of silence and, luckily, no more alarms being set off. Lalna finally speaks.

"Ok, so do any of you have the slightest idea where Pangea is?" The scientist asks. I'm not sure what he's expecting, since the only time any of us have been to the city is when we're dragged off to go to Ridge's Survival Games. Thrown into a train with blacked out windows, its difficult to know which direction your going in when you can't see outside.

"Well," Violet starts. "I've seen Ridge fly over the Kingdom heading for your castle multiple  
times."

"Yeah, he normally seems to be coming from the east, so maybe that's where Pangea is." Sparkles* smiles.

"That doesn't really clear anything up." Lalna says. "Just 'cos he arrives from the east, doesn't mean that's where the city is."

"That's true, but he seems to come from the same direction every time." Kogie adds.

"Hmm, maybe you're right. But there's no way to be sure." The blonde man says. "The city could be at the other side of the forest or hundreds of miles away."

"Something tells me its the latter." Kogie sighs.

\--

After a good ten minutes of discussion, something inside me says that that's enough, and I start to realise how serious the situation is.

"Look, we're wasting time just making guesses. We need to figure something out before its to late. For all we know. Ridge is torturing Martyn to get what ever the Nether he wants from him right now as we speak. We need to get moving, whilst we still can." I say rather loudly, but I'm not finished yet, "Lalna, you've got loads of fancy tech, surely that can help us find our way. Violet, your pretty fast on your feet and you climb up a tree almost as quickly as Martyn. You could run ahead and check for danger and get a good view from above the tree tops and--and--" Any anger that was there is now gone and I can't get my words out, I start to panic and I can feel tears forming in my eyes, I just stare at the floor, trying to hide my face.

"Everything's gonna be just fine, Toby." Sparkles* says as he puts his hand on my shoulder. I look up and see him smiling warmly, he blue eyes sparkling in the bright light.

"I--I know it's just...I'm--scared." I sniff, trying my best not to cry.

"It's not even midday yet, we've still got plenty of daylight left. We could head off now if you'd like. Though we may need to nip back to Sparkles*' place so we get are things." Violet smiles. I nod before the feline turns to the bass player. "You coming Kogie?" She asks.

"I--Don't--Know." Kogie says slowly. "Maybe not. I mean, I want to help Martyn and all, but something tells me I'd just get in the way." He shrugs. "My only real skill is playing bass, and I'm not really very good at that."

"You're not that bad." I smile, wiping my eyes.

"Cheers Toby." He smiles. "Anyway, I'll probably head home once we get back to The Kingdom, or carry on recording with the others. That is if Leo's back from his flying lessons with Sky. We did kinda leave Parv on his own in your basement, Sparks." The musician chuckles. When Sparkles* first moved into his current home, one of the first things he did was have his own, personal recording studio built in his basement. It's where Area 11 record the majority of their tracks, and, a lot of the time, just mess around. It's quite fun though, being able to wander 'round to his place and just record stupid shit for no real reason, especially when the others are slightly tipsy. Though something tells me a lot of said stupid shit is deleted after a week or so of not being used.

"Lalna?" Sparkles* says, turning to to face the scientist.

"Hmm? Oh uh. I guess, if you want me to come then sure, I'll tag along." Lalna says as he's woken from his daydream.

"Its settled then." Violet smiles. "We'll head back to The Kingdom and get our gear. Then we'll head off eastwards and hope we can find Pangea."

"But what if we don't find Pangea." I say with concern. "We could end up lost in the middle of no where with no idea on how to get back."

"I'm sure we'll find the city," She says, her voice filled with positivity. "between the four of us, it can't be that hard."

And with that. Me, Sparkles*, Kogie and Violet head back home whilst Lalna gets some things together, saying he'll meet us at the Kingdom in an hour or so. At first I'm dreading the long walk back, but knowing it takes awhile seems to give the fast-footed feline an idea. Grabbing our wrists and sprinting off at stupid speeds that most people could only dream of hitting on foot. It only takes about 5 minutes to get back, whilst walking would take a good hour. Well I suppose at least we have plenty of time to get things sorted... Hmm.. That gives me an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toby's kinda angsty in this story.. Never really noticed it before but there we go..


	6. Frozen Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Martyn's POV

Maybe its just me, but I'm pretty sure it's getting colder in here. I can feel myself shivering slightly and my breath appears in small clouds in front of me. I hate the cold, and I have good reason to. It's not in my nature to hang around in the snow and have snowball fights. Then again, when the weather gets like that, I'm usually cooped up inside, refusing to go out.

My skin is starting to turn pale blue and I begin to realise what Ridge is trying to do. When winter comes. I change. Not just mentally, but physically too. My hair turns blue and so does my mood. My usual and much loved life essence vanishes and is replaced with something much colder. A pure and powerful ice essence that I just can't keep under control. I can't deactivate it. So everything I touch freezes. Scared that I'll hurt someone, I stay at home and don't leave my room unless I have to. If I take my winter form, then I'll be even weaker than I already am, and then Ridge will be able to do what ever the nether he wants with me, and there'll be nothing I can do about it.

I don't only take on this transformation during the winter, though normally that is the only time it happens. If it gets too cold then I start to change, which is why I hate the cold, long winters tear me apart and take me further from my friends. I only really seem comfortable around Violet when I'm in this form, 'cos I know I can't harm her, freezing temperatures isn't something she seems to worry about, but then neither would I if I had fire magic running through my veins keeping me warm. Heck, I've seen her walking though a blizzard with just a T-shirt and jeans on whilst Sparkles* is walking beside her with about five layers of clothing on to keep him warm. Twas quite a funny sight actually.

The shivering starts to stop as I hear Ridge come into the room. I still feel cold though.  
"So it is possible to get you to transform in the middle of summer." He smiles, as he walks closer. "I wasn't sure if it would work."

"So you got me into my winter form, big deal. What do you want now?" I ask, glaring at him, his jet black eyes almost staring though my soul, yet I don't look away.

"Not much really, just thought I'd mess with you a little. You should be thankful I didn't choose your Autumn form, I'm sure you know all to well what happens then." He chuckles, his voice is so dark yet he seems so happy to be saying these things, not surprising really.

"Shit..Yes, of course I do, please don't. That's just..I can't cope with that. Ever." I mutter, closing my eyes tight and breathing slowly. Autumn is just not nice for me, and I don't want to go into detail.. But let's just say that I get a bit aggressive and am not so prone to staying calm. Especially at night, when my magical power maxes out and my eyes glow red..

"What would be the point, it would be fun to watch for a while, but manipulating winter weather is a lot easier than manipulating autumn weather. That and, well, changing you back would be a little difficult." He says, showing little emotion, but with a slight smile on his face. He turns away and flicks a switch, the chains attached to the cuffs on my wrists grow longer and I fall to the floor, leaving trails of ice on the walls as my bare hands rub against them.

I sit awkwardly against the cold stone behind me, trying to take my weight of my feet but not really succeeding. My ankles are still chained to the wall though, so there's no way I can escape, not that I'd want to whilst Ridge is around.

"Try not to freeze the room up please." He says as he notices the ice on the wall. "I suppose I can't leave you standing, you'd probably start rebelling eventually anyway. Just don't get any ideas." I nod as I move my legs so I'm sitting in slightly more comfortable position. He smirks with a devilish look in his eye.

I want to lie down, to sleep, but I can't, the chains aren't quite long enough and if I try then they just tighten around my wrists. The blood on my shirt has frozen over, and the wounds have also turned icy, but it still hurts to move. So I try to stay as still as I can.

Ridge walks over to me and crouches down so he's at my eye level. He takes my headband in his hands, running his fingers along the fabric, before pulls it off my head, causing my hair, which is now blue instead of blonde, to fall in front of my eyes more than it was before, making it hard for me to see anything.

"Funny how your clothes turn blue along with everything else." He says as he stands up and tosses my headband across the room. I don't know what to think any more. I'm confused, cold and scared. And I have a feeling that that's not going to change.

**\---**

I must have dozed off. Or zoned out for a while. But the next thing I know, there's an odd ringing noise filling the room and what sounds like an automatic door before everything goes quiet. I open my eyes and can see Ridge is still here, sat at a computer that I didn't notice before, facing his back to me. Typing something in, but I can't hear the clicking of the keyboard. He glances at me before turning back to the computer and an all to familiar young man pops up on the screen. A goofy smile on his face, dirty blonde hair falling in front of his eyes, speaking to Ridge, but I can't hear anything. In fact, I can't hear either of them.

At first I think I've gone deaf, but then I notice the glass wall between us. Probably there so I can't hear what Ridge is saying. I sit there, against the wall, in complete silence, waiting and hoping that the scientist notices me. He starts laughing, but Ridge doesn't seem amused, then again, its hard to tell when he's facing his back to me.

I sit there for about 5 minutes before Lalna seems to notice me. He looks confused at first, then something seems to click and I can tell he's calling me.

"Lalna.." I mutter. "Help..." I know he can't hear me, but it's worth a shot. Ridge turns and glares at me before the screen goes dark. The glass wall slides away and the Ridgedog walks towards me, I press myself up against the wall, knowing I can't get away. Wide eyed and unable to defend myself.. I'm starting to realise why almost everyone else is so scared of him.

When he gets mad, he gets _violent_..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing inthelittlefrost! (Martyn Littlefrost?)


	7. A Quick Phonecall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lalna's POV  
> This won't happen often, in fact it may never happen again. So enjoy having the story told by everyone's favourite (Or least favourite, as the case may be) scientist, rather than the Sapling King and his little brother :P

_*About twenty minutes earlier*_

\--

Maybe calling him was a bad idea, I mean, I don't even know if he actually likes me. For all I know, he only comes to visit 'cos I'm the only one who'll talk to him. Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if that were the case.. I don't mind being around him. He can be a little aggressive at times, and his habits are slightly on the creepy side, but I guess that's why I like him. Wish I had the courage to say something though... Maybe then the others wouldn't tease me about it either...

I'm not sure what I'm expecting to be honest. That is of course, if he actually picks up. Which, by the looks of things, he isn't going to. Then again, he's good at keeping you waiting.

I must have been sat here for about five or ten minutes before it stops ringing, and I see his face.

"Hey Ridge." I smile, trying to hide my nervousness. "How you doin'?"

"What do you want Lalna?" He asks with a slight smile.

"Just felt like having a chat. I get awfully lonely here you know." I say, leaning back in my chair.

"Why don't you move closer to The Kingdom. Or find a partner." He chuckles. I hope he's joking. I didn't spend weeks building this castle just to move out or to share it with a woman...

"Your joking right?" I smile, slightly worried.

"Maybe." He smiles cheekily as he moves his hair away from his eyes. "Why? Not looking for love." Urrr....

"Heh... I have no idea." Ok now I'm confused, its hard to tell if he's being flirty or if he's just being a dick. I'd really rather it were the former though.

"So naïve. Something's don't change do they." He says, his voice is surprisingly calm and any aggression he usually shows has vanished. Almost sounds like he's been drinking, but I highly doubt that...

"I'm not naïve. Am I?" I say, slightly confused and unsure on whether or not he's being honest. But then again, that's nothing new..

"You can be. Sometimes." He smirks. I'm not really sure what to say, so I just smile. "So, you doing anything today?" He asks. I'm not sure whether to lie, or tell the truth. If I tell him that I'm trying to find Martyn, then he'll get angry at me, but if I lie then everything will be fine, or at least, until we show up to get Littlewood back... Regardless of what I say, he's going to find out eventually. So I might as well tell him the truth...

"Oh you know, the usual, helping to find a kidnapped friend." I say. Suddenly sounding slightly more aggressive than I wanted to.. At first he doesn't say anything, he just stares. Then, after about a minute of silence, a calm smile slowly creeps onto his face.

"Why do you say that?" He asks, he doesn't seem angry. In fact, he seems oblivious to what's going on, I'm not sure how to respond, but I end up speaking anyway.

"You know perfectly well what's going on." I say, a quiet growl creeping up my throat. He leans back in his chair, somehow looking innocent, but I can see something, no, someone poking out from behind him, I just can't quite figure out who it is..

He doesn't speak, he just sits there, a sly smile on his face, looking down at his desk, I know that he's lying, and I'm pretty sure he can tell. I still can't work out who that is though, who's hidden behind him, they look so familiar, but the colours are off.. Hmm.. Wait a second! Martyn's magic switches with the seasons and his appearance changes with it, I hardly see him during the winter months, but I'm pretty sure he gains an ice element and turns a pale blue colour. I want to say something, I need to, but for some reason, I can't get my words out..

He looks up at me, still silent. "Not got anything else to say? Makes a change." He says quietly, only just allowing me to hear him.

"Actually, I do have something to say. Tell me Ridge, if you have absolutely no idea what's going on. How come I can see Martyn sitting behind you?" I answer with a rather bitter tone to my voice. He lifts his head and stares for a few seconds before glancing behind him. He looks back and snarls, showing his pointed teeth. "We're gonna come help you Martyn I promise! I speak without thinking, I doubt he can hear me but you never know. Now I can see him properly, I start to realize how bad a state he's in, chained up and splattered with blood, his shirt is torn and his long blue hair is covering his eyes, but I can tell that he's obviously freighted and not sure what to do. I dread to think what's going through his head right now.

He's trying to talk to me, but I can't hear him, I can't lip read either, which doesn't help. Ridge growls at me like a dog, his dark eyes flooding with hatred. The screen goes black very suddenly and I jump away from my computer. 'Well, that was interesting..' I say to myself, starting to calm down. But then I get an idea, an idea that could be a massive help in finding Martyn.

I manage to track the call to its source, or somewhere close to it if nothing else, and thus, revealing were Ridgedog is hiding Littlewood. They may just be co-ordinates and a rough location but it's better than nothing. I scribble the numbers down quickly on a piece of paper and run downstairs. Almost falling flat on my face in the process.

After a bit of map hunting, I pin point the location, it's quite far from The Kingdom, which explains why it always seemed to take so long to get to the city when Ridge sent us off to his Survival Games. Assuming of course that this is Pangea. It'd take a few days to get their on foot by my calculations. A few days that we probably don't have. Maybe I could rig a teleporter to get us there quickly. Hmm.

It's probably best I go tell the others about this, they'll be in the Kingdom still, and I have a pretty good idea where they all live, so it shouldn't be hard to find them.

**\---**

Ok, I take that back, I can't find any of them! I went down to Sparkles*' house, but he wasn't their, Parvis was the one who opened the door, he said that the singer had gone with Violet to her house to pick up her gear, and for the life of me I can't remember where she lives. Toby is nowhere to be seen, and every time I fly past the castle I get a glare from the red cloaked demon, sorry, Zekkyou. I swear, if he knocks me out the sky again with a lightning bolt I won't hesitate to fight back.

Now that I think about it though, It wouldn't surprise me if Toby was in the Castle. I doubt he'd be looking for clues, that's not really like him to do something like that. If he were in their, he'd probably be looking for something in particular, something valuable. Hmm, maybe I should see if I can get in, Zekkyou will likely have a go at me, and it's impossible to get round him, he can teleport from place to place at will, not quite in the same way as an Enderman, since it isn't Ender magic, but it's still very annoying. He's generally a nice guy from what I've seen, he just doesn't like me for some reason.. And his weird mish mash of Elemental and Pure magic does my head in..

I fly over the front gates and land just in front of the door. It's been a long, long time since I last went inside. So I suppose this'll bring back some memories, both good and bad... 

As I reach for the door handle, a flurry of black smoke appears in front of me and I jump back, tripping and falling down a small set of stairs and landing heavily on the hard stone floor.

"Ow..." I wince as I sit up slowly, rubbing my head. I look up and see Zekkyou, stood at the top of the stairs, his long red coat and tattered and torn black cape fluttering in the breeze, a ridiculous smirk on his face as he holds back laughter. I roll my eyes as I get to my feet. "What do you want?" I ask, folding my arms.

"Just wondering where you're off to is all." He says with a smile. "Martyn isn't here if you came to see him."

"I know that Martyn's not here, I was just wondering if Toby was, he wasn't at his house and I need to talk to him." I reply.

"Yeah, he is here, he seemed pretty run down when he arrived though, would hardly speak to me when I asked him what was up.." Zekkyou states in a rather relaxed tone. His jet black hair falling into his red eyes as he shrugs. His headband doing very little to keep it out of the way.

"He's upset about Martyn, I don't blame him, It can't be easy for him. But I came to talk to him about Martyn, I think I've figured out where he is, maybe that'll cheer Toby up a bit, if he knows that his friend's ok, or at least, as ok as you can be when you've been chained up." I say rather quickly.

"Ok, fine, just don't say I didn't warn you when he refuses to talk." Zekkyou smiles, his constantly glowing red eyes seem to brighten a little, and seconds after he's finished speaking, he vanishes in a cloud of black smoke. I doubt he's gone far, probably only to the front gates of the Castle. But at least I can go inside now..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zekkyou's fun to write with. I'll have to include him a bit more in another story at some point. Hm.  
> His magic is.. complicated. And he's not actually a demon. His eyes just glow constantly and his magical essence is very strong. He can do all sorts. I still need to expand on it really. I've got the basics down but nothing more >


	8. Let the Adventure Begin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toby's POV
> 
> This is where the chapters start getting a bit long o.o

The moment I entered the Castle my mind had gone blank. The Castle was rather empty which would have confused me if I hadn't been in such a state. I'd run upstairs. Stumbled into one of the bedrooms and fallen onto the bed. Unable to hold back tears any more. I didn't even care about how I might look to someone who walked in. I had this horrible suspicion that this was all my fault in some way. I didn't know why. But for some reason. It seemed to make some sort of weird, twisted sense..

I must have been in there on my own for a good twenty minutes, before someone did walk in. By this point I was sat on the edge of the bed, my head in my hands. Not crying, but still shaking and confused. I didn't look up until the person spoke.

"Hey. Toby. You all right?" They say softly. About as softly as I'd ever heard him speak. I looked up slowly and saw Lalna stood in the doorway, a slight smile on his face as he walked over to me, closing the door quietly behind him. "You all right?" He repeats. Starting to look a little concerned as he crouches down in front of me.

"Y-yeah.. Just.. Thinking.." I say shakily, stuttering a little. I move my hands away from my face slowly and look at the scientist in front of me. His muddy green eyes seeming less tired than usual, yet still just as stressed as they always do. He's always looked a little older than he is. There are reasons for it, of course. Mostly due to his various experiments. Constantly beating himself up, usually accidentally. Or blowing himself up. That's happened once or twice too. Countless sleepless nights and busy days have also contributed to it a fair bet I'd wager. 

His face being littered with scars, both old and new, doesn't help either. I mean, we've all got scars, even I have scars - the most prominent being the one across the bridge of my nose, I still don't know how I got that.. Martyn's got scars all over his hands and up his arms and legs, since he always wears short sleeves and three quarter length trousers, it leaves a lot of him open for attack. Nilesy has a scar across his eyes that glows blue when his magic activates, I always thought that was cool, if not a bit creepy. But I swear every time I see Lalna there's another mark on his face..

"No. You're not ok. I know you're worried, Toby. We all are. But you need to relax. Ok. Everything's gonna be all right." He smiles, his voice still oddly soft. I'm starting to get tired of people saying 'everything's going to be ok'.. It's started to loose it's meaning if I'm honest..

"If you knew I wasn't ok then why did you ask?" I say, a quiet growl coming from the back of my throat, suddenly feeling a little agitated, though I'm not entirely sure why. His smile fades and he tilts his head to the side slightly.

"Come on Toby. Work with me here. I'm not particularly experienced with the whole comforting others thing." He paused and puts his hand on my shoulder. "Look. I think I know where Martyn is. Actually, I'm certain that I do. And. The sooner we get going. The sooner we'll find him. And the sooner this whole ordeal will be over and we can go back to how things were before." The smile creeps back onto his face as he shakes my shoulder slightly and stamds up. I sigh and stay silent for a few moments, a lump re-emerging in my throat.

"Yeah.." I mutter, before what Lalna said properly clicks into place. "Wait." I start, a bit louder now. "You found out where he is? How?" I look up at him, a smile playing at his lips as he moves his long hair out of his eyes.

"Probably completely jeopardised my friendship with Ridge for a while. But. I have a pretty good idea where Martyn is, yes." He says, sounding almost boastful, not that that's new..

"How?" I repeat. Genuinely curious as to how he could have figured this out so quickly.

"I called Ridge up on my computer. Odd. Really. He's not usually so careless. But I saw Martyn behind him. Not looking his best, I won't lie. Kinda icy. And bloody. Not pleasant. But yeah. When Ridge hung up, I traced the call to the best of my abilities. And I have a good idea on where Martyn's being kept." He smiles down at me, and before I can stop myself I leap to my feet and wrap my arms around him, almost pushing him over in the process.

"Lalna you are bloody brilliant!" I say rather loudly, suddenly feeling a hell of a lot more lively. I don't really notice what I'm doing until I feel his hands on my back, and I move away quickly. "Sorry.." I smile, rather awkwardly. He just chuckles a little 

"'s fine." He smiles back at me. Looking glad to see me up on my feet. But the happy moment quickly fades and he starts to look worried again. He doesn't speak for a few seconds, and almost seems to be thinking about how to word his next sentence. "But. If my calculations are correct. And they are. Then he's a really, really long way away. Hundreds of miles. It'd take days to get there on foot. Days we might not have." I analyse these words for a bit. Trying to come up with something to say in response.

"We have horses." I say, a little doubtfully. I know travelling on horseback wouldn't make much of a difference, but it could certainly speed things up a little. Probably.

"I don't have a horse." Lalna says flatly.

"You can ride though, right?" I ask. I'm pretty sure I've seen him ride a horse before. He nods. And I smile. "Well then. There are loads of horses down in the Castle stables. I'm sure no one will mind if you borrow one." I say, an almost cheeky grin creeping onto my face.

"What about Violet and Sparkles*? Come to think of it. I didn't even know you could ride." He says, an odd smile I can't quite decipher on his face.

"Violet has her own stallion. Has done for years. Not sure about Sparkles*. I think he can ride though. As for me. Well. It's one of the few things I'm good at. Martyn taught me ages ago. I've been riding with him for as long as I can remember. When I was about eight or nine, one of his mares had a foal, and the filly became my responsibility to raise and train. With Martyn's help of course. It was fun. And besides. I haven't taken her out into the forest for a while." I say fairly calmly. Lalna nods slightly before he speaks.

"Well. I didn't know that. But this isn't just a joy-ride Toby. It's serious. You should know that. Whilst taking horses would definitely speed things up a little. We'd be putting them at risk too. Plus. I doubt they'd like having to carry us and our stuff for hours at a time across the forest." He says almost matter-of-factly. Yet still with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I know it's not just a joy-ride. But I didn't think about them having to carry our stuff, and us. I guess even for a horse a journey like that'd be difficult. And I suppose. We will almost definitely encounter monsters... Yeah. I see where you're going.. Guess it's just the four of us going on a hundred mile trek then." I say rather slowly.

"'Fraid so." He nods. He pauses for a bit before a slight smile appears on his face again. "Anyway. Why exactly did you come up here. Other than to sit on your own and cry." A rather familiar flash of cheek shines in his eyes as his smile grows wider. I roll my eyes and smile a little.

"I came looking for something." I say bluntly as I move towards the door. "Though it kind of slipped to the back of my mind when I came in here. I think I know where it'll be though. Come. Follow me." I saw almost formally as I open the door and gesture for him to follow me.

\--

Walking down the twisting corridors and long staircases of the Castle has never seemed to take so long. It probably didn't help that Lalna kept getting distracted. By the architecture of all things.. I will never understand him.. Still. We made it down to one of the lowest levels within about fifteen minutes. I'm not sure how I remembered how to get here actually. I've only been down here a couple of times. And it's so far down and so hidden away you really do need to know where you're going to make it without getting lost. The Castle is truly gigantic. You wouldn't believe it just from looking at the outside. Since it doesn't look excessively big. But there are at least a dozen floors, many of which stretch deep underground. And I'm fairly sure some of the areas are indeed bigger on the inside. Martyn once said there are dungeons right at the very bottom. He may have been joking. But this place was built a long time ago, so it wouldn't really surprise me..

"Armoury?" Lalna said as we made it to the bottom of the last set of stairs. I didn't reply at first, I walked over to the large wooden door, leaving Lalna stood looking at the metal plated sign, engraved with elegant copperplate writing that the scientist had just read aloud (I seem to remember that once, several years ago now, Martyn stuck a piece of paper over it that read 'Ye Olde Armoury' in purposely messy hand-writing, as well as multiple similar signs in various places where the fancy text was easily visible, as he was getting bored with all the copperplate stuff scattered across the Castle. Kinda ruined the beauty of the place, though it did add some humour, the staff quickly got rid of them though, as they were 'defacing the Castle' or some crap like that.) placed on the wall next to it, I trace my finger across the old stones that make up the wall, before stopping at one that had what looked like a large crack running through the middle. I press against it with my fingers so that it sinks about five centimetres into the wall, before sliding to the side. Revealing a small cavity with a slightly rusted key sat in it. Again. No idea how I'm remembering all this. I took the key out the hole in the wall and put it in the lock on the door. It was surprisingly easy to turn and unlock the door. I opened it a little and tucked the key into my trouser pocket, turning back to face Lalna, who was looking at me like I'd just made doves fly out of my sleeves. I just smiled and opened the door all the way.

"Come on. If you like all the carvings in the stonework you'll like it in here." I smiled at him as I turned and walked through the door into a long, dimly lit room, interdiction torches - or at least I think that's what they are - scattered across the walls to keep the monsters from appearing down here. I looked over my shoulder to see Lalna stood in the doorway, eyes wide, gaping at what was lining the walls and floors on fancy stands. Weapons, tools and armour of all sorts, some of it truly ancient, made from all sorts of materials. From common stuff like iron and steel, to much more peculiar things like ruby and even obsidian. I quickly wander off down the room looking for something in particular and left Lalna to gaze in amazement at all the old swords and helmets.

"Toby.. This.. This is spectacular. I didn't know Martyn had all this stuff." He said, utterly bewildered by what he was seeing. For someone so interested in science and technology, he certainly adores the old-fashioned stuff.

"Well he rarely comes down here himself. Yet alone bring others down here. Even I've only been down here once or twice. Not sure how I remembered how to get here actually." I pause as I see him reach out for a rather dainty looking steel blade decorated with sapphires - Actually. A lot of the stuff in here is decorated with sapphires or similar stones, and considering Martyn's obsession with lapis. I think the Littlewood family may have had a liking for blue gems in years gone by. Which is odd considering how closely tied they are - or at least Martyn is - to the colour green.. "I wouldn't touch anything though. Some of it's really delicate. Hasn't been used in decades, most of it. So look, but don't touch, just in case." I say, speaking rather sharply at first, but quickly reverting back to a much softer tone. Lalna looks up at me with another rather confused look, before nodding slightly, tucking his hands into his coat pockets.

"So what are you looking for then?" He asks as he strolls casually towards me. "I'm presuming it's something pretty important." He adds.

"Yeah." I mutter, not really paying attention to him. I keep walking until I find an incredibly ornate, and rather large, golden weapon stand, shaped a bit like a tree, standing alone, tucked away from view. And what a beautiful thing it is. Several swords of varying materials and styles attached to the branches of the 'tree'. And two magnificent looking suits of armour in the middle of them against the trunk of the 'tree'. Both styled differently and made of different materials; one, the shiny, perfectly polished grey silver colour of steel, decorated with streaks of gold and - believe it or not - lapis lazuli stones shaped like stars, the other, the blue-green of diamond, shimmering trails of silver running down the front of the helmet. A pair of very luxurious looking bows also hang from the branches, each accompanied by a quiver full of arrows of different varieties. Each piece of equipment is engraved with the Sapling logo and the letters 'ML'. Martyn's initials. These are also engraved at the top of the golden structure, bigger than on the weapons and armour though. I can't help but smile. Thinking back to when Martyn first showed me all this when I was about nine or ten. Even now, only one of the pieces actually shows any sign of being used. It's golden striped leather sheath looking a little battered from the adventures it's been taken on, and a rather visible dent in the guard from where Martyn once dropped it on the concrete outside the Castle. (A rather alarming amount of swearing followed when he realised it was damaged. Now he just says it adds uniqueness. Yeah. Like a sword made of lapis lazuli, with a gold and silver hilt, rare wood handle with the sapling logo and your initials engraved into it, as well as a few emeralds dotted down the centre of the blade wasn't unique enough already..) It's still pretty impressive though.  All of it. I take a few steps towards the stand and run my hand down the sheath of the lapis sword. This is when I realise Lalna is stood a few metres behind me.

"Holy mother of Notch.." He says breathlessly as he looks at the rather glamorous set of equipment. I just smile, not turning around as I take the grip of the sword in my hand and lift it carefully off the rack. Sliding the sheath down slightly and grinning at the weapon in my hands. "This is.. I don't.. This is all Martyn's?" He asks, still sounding rather befuddled.

"Technically yes. Though as you can probably tell he doesn't use it." I say rather quietly as I slide the sheath back into place and clip the sword onto my belt. Still grinning like a madman.

"I would if it were mine. This stuff must be worth thousands." He says as he takes a few steps closer to get a closer look at everything.

"Millions. " I mutter. "But you know what Martyn's like. He doesn't like to be associated with stereotypical views of royalty. He hates the idea of people thinking of him as a stuck up wealthy bastard." I say a little louder as I turn to face the scientist, who's still gazing intently at the intricate details on one of the pieces of armour.

"Hence the jeans and t-shirts." He says, sounding rather distant all of a sudden.

"Hence the jeans and t-shirts." I repeat with a smile. "Well. That, and when it comes to weaponry, he prefers to use the stuff he makes himself. He's quite the blacksmith you know." I say rather plainly as the blonde in front of me stands up straight and tears his eyes away from the sparkling steel helmet he was staring at. He looks at me, and quickly spots the sword now attached to my belt, raising an eyebrow as a curious look appears on his face.

"You told me not to touch anything, so why have you taken that?" He asks. Looking at me, a bit confused. I look down at the sword and smile.

"It's Martyn's. He always said that if I wanted too I could use one of these. I never have. Since I don't really think I have the talent to use such a weapon. Martyn only ever uses this one. 'Cos it's made of lapis lazuli. And you know he likes the stuff for whatever reason. He usually takes it with him when we go out on long trips into the forest. And. Well. It's a lot better than the swords I have. And we're gonna be away a while. I guess. It's just so I have something of him with me. You know.." I say rather gently. Lalna cocks his head slightly and smiles.

"Yeah all right. That makes sense." He says, his voice suddenly sounding oddly soft again. Though he is quickly distracted as another piece of fancy weaponry catches his eye and he walks quickly towards it to get a better look.

"Lalna.." I groan as I walk up to him and tug at the back of his coat, he spins round to face me and scowls momentarily before speaking.

"What?" His voice a little too stern considering all I did was get his attention.

"Let's go. I'm sure Violet and Sparkles* are waiting for us." I say flatly as I turn on my heel and walk back up the room towards the door. I stop a few moments later when I realise that he isn't following me. "Lalna!" I snap, my voice echoing a little off the stone walls. He almost jumps out of his skin and speed-walks past me without another word. I just chuckle to my self as I head after him.

\--

We'd met up with Violet and Sparkles* by the front gates to the Kingdom, and before long had entered the forest surrounding it, Lalna using his gadgets to help us find our way. I don't think we'd been walking for more than an hour before things started to go wrong.

It wasn't long past mid-day. Yet we'd found ourselves in a rather dark area of forest. There are quite a few areas where the canopy is very thick and blocks out most of the sunlight. Even in the summer. Martyn knows the forest so well we tend to avoid them. But I guess even with the four of us, our knowledge of the woodland isn't quite good enough to stop us from drifting into these areas. And, unfortunately for us, we'd wandered into a spot where it was just dark enough for monsters to spawn.

Violet was the first to notice we weren't alone. Her sensitive hearing picked up sounds coming from the forest that the rest of us didn't notice. It wasn't long before the growls and snarls coming from behind the trees became louder. And the red eyes of spiders became visible in the bushes. Lalna drew his sword almost gleefully, the gleaming emerald blade sparkling in the low-light.

"This shouldn't be too hard." I heard him say to himself as he held the weapon loosely at his side. That was when a handful of soulless, lumbering zombies and horrendous black spiders crept out of the foliage and moved towards us. The arachnids scuttling quickly, the zombies trudging along, staring at us with blank, dead eyes..

\--

"Duck Toby!" Violet said rather sharply as I saw Lalna and Sparkles* deal with the last of the zombies, I turned to see the feline facing me with her bow drawn, I looked behind me and saw a spider clinging to a tree trunk, hissing at me, readying itself to pounce. I ducked down quickly, and less than a second later, the spider was impaled with a well-aimed arrow. It fell forward off the tree and disappeared in a swirl of grey smoke as it hit the floor.

"Thanks." I smile as I stood up straight, glancing at where the spider had fallen before looking at Violet.

"Don't mention it." She scowls as she slings her bow over her shoulder. I tilt my head, slightly confused. Was she angry at me?

"Um. Ok.." I mutter. Not really sure what else to say.

"Oh leave 'im be Vi, it's not his fault he's useless." Sparkles* chuckles as he walks over to us, swiftly followed by Lalna, who elbows the musician in the side, glowering down at him. "I was only joking." Sparkles* smiles nervously as he looks up at the blonde stood beside him.

"It's fine." I smile at them. Violet still looks rather unhappy though. And I can't tell why..

"You could have tried to pull your weight though. You barely did anything." She says rather harshly.

"Yeah. I know. And I'm sorry. But I didn't have much of a chance. You three beat me too it.." I say quickly, almost laughing, though I'm not sure why.

"He has a point.." Lalna said slowly. Looking at Violet with about as much confusion as me. I feel this sudden bout of aggression flood through me for no apparent reason. And it makes me feel kinda dizzy for a few seconds before it fades.

"Maybe we should just get moving. We don't want to spend anymore time in one place than we need too." Sparkles* says to the group, though he's ignored.

"Just try to do a bit more next time we encounter monsters." She says bluntly as she turns away from me and takes a few steps forwards into the trees.

"Of course.." I mutter, a peculiar growl coming from the back of my throat as the seemingly random aggression starts to come back.

"Toby. Are you all right?" Lalna asks as he looks at me cautiously. "You're looking a bit peaky all of a sudden." He adds. A mix of worry and concern covering his face.

"I'm.. Fine.." I say slowly. I can suddenly hear noises in my ears. Quiet. Hushed noises. Like voices. Whispers. But I don't think they're actually there. I think I'm imagining them.. I doubt that's good..

"Hmm. You sure?" The scientist says, sounding a little frightened. I nod slightly and that seems to be enough to make both the blonde, and the musician stood next to him, start following Violet, who's ventured a little further into the trees, both looking a little less cheerful than they had a few minutes ago.

The noises in my ears start to grow louder. I shake my head to try and get them to go away but they don't, and as I take a step forward I rather abruptly lose my balance and stumble forward into a tree. Holding onto the trunk, suddenly feeling incredibly disoriented. The world around me starts to go hazy at the edges and the voices get louder. The others don't seem to have noticed that I've stopped and keep walking. My breathing grows heavier as the whispers turn to screams. The world around me fades into black, I feel like I'm being watched as bright white light fills my vision. And then all feeling I have left flickers and vanishes and I almost feel like I'm falling... Falling into a deep sleep...

A deep, sharp voice echoes through my mind as the falling stops.  
**"Let's kill them!"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooo what's happening, what's happening?  
> You'll just have to wait and see! Read on read on, or you'll never know :P


	9. Clouded Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Martyn's POV

I wake up again quite a while later. My last memory being Ridge approaching me with a rather.. angry.. look on his face. It's dark in here now, the room is coated in ice, and I'm sprawled out in the middle, staring at the ceiling. The chains that held me back are no longer tied round my wrists and ankles. And as I turn my head slightly I see the remnants of them lying, shattered, on the floor. Frozen and broken. Could I have done that?

I suppose it's possible. The problem with feeling constantly depressed when you gain new abilities is that you tend not to use them. And as such. I don't really know what I'm capable of. I know that I freeze things when I touch them. Coating them in layers of ice, though that's mostly because I can't properly deactivate my magic. There's been occasions where I've managed to cast proper spells, forming snowflakes and even create pillars of ice when I put my mind to it. A little like how my life essence allows me to make plants grow in my spring and summer form. But still. Metal is difficult to break. Make it hot enough and it'll melt. But make it cold enough. And it shatters. Could I have taken the temperature of the metal low enough to cause it to shatter? Maybe.. But that'd have to be an incredibly low temperature.. Ugh.. Why I can't I remember what happened...

 

_"Do I scare you, Martyn?"_  
"No.. Why would you scare me.. You may be powerful and horribly cruel, but I'm not afraid of you.."  
"You should be. Your friends are. Especially little Toby."  
"You leave Toby out of this!"  
"Why? He's quite unusual. You know."  
"No he's not.. He's just a kid.." 

 

Voices from conversations you can't remember swimming into your head and whispering to you. That's not normal.. Is it.. Hmm..

I want to get up. To see if I am really alone, or if this odd feeling of solitude is just an illusion. But my head hurts. My arms and legs ache, as if I've been fighting something.. or someone.. And there's a nasty pain in my chest. I try and sit up, but I feel weak and my hands keep sliding on the ice. Which is odd. I usually have quite a good grip on the stuff in my winter form. After a few attempts I just give up and lay there. Hoping to regain enough strength after a while to allow me to sit up. I close my eyes and try to think. Try to remember. I'm not going anywhere. There's no rush. Ridge will likely leave me alone for a while now. He's beaten me up sufficiently for one day. Probably.

_"Really? That's an odd thing to say about the boy whom you consider your brother."_  
"Him being my best friend has nothing to do with the fact that he's... he's..."  
"Go on. Say it."  
"Say.. what..?"  
"That he's useless. That little Toby is right when he says he's got no talents."  
"He does have talents! He's strong. He's brave. He's-"  
"Then why does he run away and hide behind you, refuse to fight and depend upon you for his very survival? He may be loyal. But he's not strong. And he's certainly not brave. He's a coward."  
"No he's NOT!" 

I'm starting to remember more. Though I still can't remember how I ended up on the floor. No one ever believes me when I say that deep down Toby does have skill, he does have ability and he is brave. But then most people didn't know him before the incident in the forest. Back when he showed real potential of becoming a great fighter. Once or twice, over the past few years, when we've gotten ourselves into a rather lot of trouble out in the forest. Toby has drawn his sword and fought like a true warrior. But this has only happened when I've taken a bit of a beating on my own. If I can hardly stand then Toby will fight off the last few monsters to get us home safely. It's in those brief moments that I see the small, skinny, scruffy haired nine-year old doing his best to be like me. All grown up, fighting with years of experience and practised skill. Fighting like he always wanted too. Like _I_ wanted him too.. But then I quickly realise that never happened. He grew up, sure, but he's still deeply childish and shy and horribly stubborn at times. He only fights when he has to. And more often than not I still have to go in and save him. He tries. But he doesn't try hard enough. And he gives up too quickly..

Regardless. _Nobody_ calls my little brother a coward. He may not be brave in the way that most people think he should be. But he's brave in his own way. If only I knew what that way was..

 

_"Isn't he? Odd. I always thought he was. Then again. I suppose. With magic like that. Bravery could result in a massacre."_  
"Magic? No. Toby isn't magical. Unless.."  
"He hasn't shown signs of it. It hasn't been activated. Doesn't know how to use it. Maybe he doesn't even know it's there."  
"I didn't know I had a magical essence until it started to show. But it did that on it's own, gradually, over time. But Toby. No.. I'd have noticed something.."  
"Not necessarily. Not all magic is detectable. Some. Like my own. Is almost impossible to track until it's activated."  
"No. No you're lying. Toby doesn't have magic. He's.. He's ordinary.. He's just a shy, under ambitious teenager who want's so desperately to grow up, but can't."  
"Wow. You really are clueless. Aren't you." 

 

I feel like he was trying to tell me something. Not just trying to wind me up. Now I can rerun that part of the conversation in my head. It sounds like he was trying to tell me something. Just being rather indirect about it. But surely. Even the most hidden of magic, causes noticeable changes.. Has anything about Toby changed recently?

I guess he's been a little more irritable as of late. But I never thought much of it. It's not the first time he's gone through phases like this. I just thought it was something that'd fade after awhile. Then again. When Zekkyou's magic first started to come through, he'd get incredibly angry incredibly easily. It made talking to him very difficult, and he was still very young which made it worse. And since his magic is much more potent than mine, it took a long time for side effects like mood-swings to pass as he adjusted to the energy surges that come with magic on that level. And of that type. It's not Dark magic, it's kind of a mix of Elemental and Pure. But it looks like Dark magic. And the fact that his eyes are red and don't stop glowing doesn't help either... Still. Toby. Magical. That can't be true. It just can't..

I lie on the floor with my eyes closed for a while longer. But I can't really remember much else of what happened. Except for flashes of blue and gold light, a searing pain running through my chest, something that's only now starting to fade. The slow spread of ice across the room, and something hitting me across the head. That's probably how I ended up on the floor. But no more of the conversation. If Ridge did talk to me more, I can't remember it. Which is very annoying.. I want to know if he said more about Toby supposedly being magical. I'm still not sure if he's being truthful about that. Maybe more will come to me later..

After a few more minutes, I decide to try and get up again. This time with a bit more success. Rolling onto my side and propping myself up with my elbow. I glance around the room for a few moments before slowly pushing myself onto my feet. Using the icy wall for support. I stand up straight, one hand still resting on the wall, and look around properly. As my eyes adjust properly to the dim light, I see that the entire room is encased in a thick layer of ice. Strange formations, like miniature glaciers, are stood up against the side walls. Almost like water had been thrown and frozen as it hit the wall. The ice on the floor is slightly cracked in places, presumably from where Ridge has stepped, as the cracks are too far apart to have been caused by my footsteps, and I'm not sure what else could have caused it. As I look around, I notice what look like skid marks, just in front of a large crack in the ice. Part of me hopes that Ridge slipped and fell as I froze the floor beneath his feet.

I spot the frozen torches on the walls. The flames that lit the room long since extinguished. I would like some light. It's rather dark in here, and not much light is coming through thick layers of ice that are blocking the tiny windows. But my eyes usually adjust fairly well to dimly lit areas. I guess hundreds of hours spent in the depths of dark woodland has accounted for that. That and, in my Winter and Autumn form at least, my eyes glow pretty bright, so they let off a fair bit off light.

I slide across the floor, moving my feet as if I'm ice-skating, something I love doing, and one of the few things I'll do in the winter. I remember teaching Toby how to skate when he was small. Before my seasonal changes first started. And sometimes after, though by that point he could skate fairly well on his own. It was fun. Though he was terrified at first. Scared that the ice would give way and he'd fall in. He never did. I did. Once or twice. But he didn't. Still hasn't. Mostly 'cos I had, or possibly, still have, a rather bad habit of showing off, and I'd skate around the frozen lake, doing all sorts of tricks and things I'd taught myself, without skipping the areas where I knew the ice would be too thin to hold me. There'd be a crack and a splash and Toby's cries as he hurried over to see if I was ok. I'd laugh it off. And then have to live with a terrible cold for a week afterwards.. Oh the joys of childhood recklessness.

Toby's very good now actually. One of the few things he'll happily challenge me in. I used to joke that he should become a figure skater. He wasn't too happy about that. So I stopped. Still. He'd do very well if he was one. He's fast and agile and brilliant at doing tricks and jumps and all that. He doesn't show off like I do though. And he's much more responsible when it comes to checking if the ice is thick enough to hold our weight. Which is probably why he's the one who's never fallen through the ice. Whilst it still happens to me on occasion. Not that it bothers me so much now. With the whole winter form and lack of response to cold that comes with it. The lakes in the forest only freeze over when we've had heavy snow, or it's been incredibly cold. So I'm always in my winter form by the time we can go out.

I skate over to the door and peer through the small window at the top. I'm not sure what I'm hoping to see. Perhaps get an idea on where I am. But there's nothing. The corridor looks darker than the room I'm in, I can only see a few metres down it, and some of the ice seems to have seeped through and is creeping across the walls on the other side of the door. I bet Ridge didn't think that'd happen. I could probably break out if I wanted too. If I can shatter chains I can get through a locked door. But I doubt Ridge has left me completely unguarded. So it's probably best I stay here. Even though I would like to have a look around, and see where I am. Maybe even try and get away. But something tells me I wouldn't get far. It's probably best I just wait for something to happen. Either for Ridge to come back, though I don't really want him to, or for something else to occur. Maybe my friends will show themselves. Then again. I don't know how far away from the Kingdom I am. I could be hundreds of thousands of miles away. It'd take forever to get here if that were the case. I guess I just have to hope that Ridge leaves me alone.

 

_"Do I scare you? Ridgedog.."_  
"Don't be ridiculous."  
"Then why am I chained up and locked away, even when I'm unarmed and not in a state to fight. Hm?"  
"Just a precaution. And I don't want you making a run for it."  
"Sure. Whatever you say." 

 

Hmm.. That doesn't sound like something I'd say..


	10. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toby's POV
> 
> Now we get to find out what happened at the end of chapter 8. :D

I open my eyes slowly. It seems like only a few seconds since I blacked out. But I feel like a lot more than a few seconds have passed. I'm laying flat on my back in the grass. The shadow of a tall figure standing over me. As my eyes adjust to the bright sunlight, the figure takes the form of Lalna. And that's when I notice the rather flustered and slightly scared look on the scientists face. And the sword in his hand, pointed at my throat.

"Toby?" He says shakily. His breathing is heavy and his eyes are filled with fear. But I can't figure out why.

"Y-Yes.." I stutter. To scared to move. Lalna seems to hesitate a bit before moving his sword away from me. He still looks frightened though, and keeps ahold of it. I sit up slowly, my muscles protesting against it. Suddenly feeling tired and weak, and rather sore. What happened..

I look past Lalna, and spot Violet and Sparkles* stood a little way away, both staring at me warily. Looking rather shaken. Sparkles*' jumper is torn. And Violet is holding her sword loosely in her hand. Overall. They both look quite exhausted. Like they've been fighting something. Lalna crouches down in front of me, and looks at me closely. As if he's looking for something. I look at him, and spot a cut just above his left eye, hidden slightly by his long hair. It's fresh. And it wasn't there a moment ago.. This just adds to my confusion.

"Yes?" I ask as he looks at me. Starting to find my voice, though still feeling a bit shaky. The scientist doesn't speak at first. He simply tilts his head slightly and sighs.

"What was all that about then?" He asks softly as he sits down crossed legged in front of me, wincing slightly as he does so, his sword still at his side. My eyes narrow as I try and figure out what he means, but I can't work it out.

"W-What do you mean?" I ask him. He raises an eyebrow at me, as if I just asked a rather stupid question.

"You don't remember?" He says. This is when I realise that we're answering each others questions with more questions. Which rarely get's anyone anywhere. He speaks again before I get a chance reply "Well. I suppose that makes sense."

"It.. Does..? I-I don't understand. What happened? Why do you guys look so beaten up?" I say rather quickly. Lalna glances at something to the right of him, I follow his gaze and see what he's looking at. The lapis lazuli sword I took from the Castle is sat in the grass, several feet from me, looking as if it had been thrown there. The blonde man sighs again before he looks at me and replies.

"Toby. You attacked us." He says, his voice suddenly filled with fear. My eyes widen and my breath catches in my throat as I move backwards, supporting myself with my arms for a few moments before they give way and I fall flat on my back again. I lay there, motionless, staring up at the sky, trying to process what Lalna had just said, but to no avail. It doesn't make sense. I would never attack my friends. I couldn't.

"Why do I feel so weak all of a sudden.." I mutter to myself. Though Lalna seems to think it's a question.

"Splash potion of weakness. It'll wear off in a couple minutes. We couldn't think of a better way to get you to stop. We didn't want to hurt you." His voice is still shaky. And even though I can't see his face now from where I'm lying, I can tell that he can't quite believe what he's saying. I manage to sit up again, and I look at him, he looks really concerned, but his green eyes are still flooded with fear.

"I... I don't understand." I mutter as I pull my legs against my chest and rest my chin on my knees, staring down at the grass. "I'd never hurt my friends.. Not on purpose.." My voice is quiet and unsteady, so much so that I'm rather surprised that Lalna heard me.

"We know. Toby. That's why it came as a surprise to us. When you suddenly lashed out. I've never seen you fight like that. But then. I don't think it was really you who was doing the fighting." He says, the fear has subsided, now his voice is sounding quite flat, and it's usual bouncy tone is no where to be seen. He's still frightened. I can tell. He looks down at the floor as he starts playing with the grass absent mindedly with his fingers. "I think. I'm starting to understand something." He says slowly, looking up at me, but not moving his head. I glance up at him. Not sure how to respond.

"Care to elaborate?" I hear Violet say as she walks over to us and sits down beside the scientist. I look up at her for a few moments. And notice a bandage wrapped around her forearm that definitely wasn't there before, and a small cut on her ear, that's also new.

"Yes. I'd like to know too." Sparkles* says as he joins us, sitting down on the other side of Lalna, both he and Violet are still giving me the odd wary look. And I can detect a slight hint of unease in their voices. I think they're both scared I'm going to try and attack them.. 

Lalna sighs before he speaks. "It's difficult to explain. And I'm not sure if I'm right. There's still a fairly good chance that I might be wrong." He says rather quickly, he seems to want to say more but Violet cuts him off.

"Just get on with it." She says bluntly. Lalna smiles very slightly, but it quickly disappears before he talks again.

"Well. I think I know what set the security system off at my castle. And I think it's related to what happened just now. Toby." He says, still not looking up at me until he says my name. I lift my head slightly and look at him.

"Yeah?" I say quietly. He sits up straight, putting his hands in his lap, a rather serious expression crossing his face.

"What do you know about Dark magic?" He says, bluntly, though with a hint of seriousness that I rarely hear from him.

"N-Not much.. I don't really know much about magic as a whole.. I-I never really saw any point in learning about it. Since. If I were magical. I'd have found out by now. Martyn was. What. Eleven. Twelve. When he started to be able to use his magic. I-If I were to show signs, it would have happened by now. So I never really bothered with l-learning anything about it.." I say slowly. Still stuttering a little. Lalna nods slightly and purses his lips as he looks off into the distance for a moment. Presumably thinking on what to say or next, or how to word it.

"Not necessarily." He says as he looks at me again. "There are types of magic, that don't show through until much later in life. That can lay dormant for decades before becoming active." He pauses for a moment. I don't say anything. I'm not sure what to say. "Though when it does. It's either very sudden and difficult to handle for a while, or very gradual, and easy to control." He continues, his voice is still rather flat. I didn't know that Lalna knew much about magic, if I'm honest. I know that Violet has a rather fiery essence, I don't think Sparkles* has any magic at all. But Lalna. Well. I suppose he does use magical things occasionally. But his resentment for Rythian - a man who can, and will, perform almost any kind of magic if he puts his mind to it. Which he does. Frequently - has always led me to believe that he wasn't interested in anything beyond the basics. Although. To use most magical items. You need at least some magic of your own. Lalna may be a firm believer in science, but I suppose he couldn't help it if he were born with a magical essence, all be it, a very faint one. Unspecialised magic is very difficult to spot sometimes. So maybe.

"Well. If that's the kind of magic Toby has. Then it's definitely the first thing. He's never shown signs of magic before, or at least not to my knowledge." Violet says. Her voice is oddly light considering what we're talking about.

"No. No I think. I think what we're dealing with here is a bit more.." He pauses again. Seemingly thinking about what to say. "Possessive." He finally speaks. His voice seems rather distant, though still sounding a bit worried.

"Possessive..?" I say to myself quietly, looking back down at the grass. Trying to figure out what he means.

"You can't remember what happened. Right?" The scientist says. I simply nod, not looking up at him. "And you definitely weren't yourself when you started attacking. Toby. There's Dark magic running through you. And I suspect that it's been there for a long time." He stops rather abruptly. If I could get anymore confused than I already am, then it would of just sky-rocketed, but since I'm up to my neck in confusion and sudden revelations already, this doesn't shock me as much as it probably should. I look up at Lalna for a moment before looking back down at the grass, not really sure on how to respond. No one talks for a few minutes. No one seems to know what to say.

"Dark magic.." I finally mutter, not really directing it at anyone. "No.. No that can't be right.." I add. Still whispering to myself. I look up at Lalna, he looks concerned again. "Now's the time to say you're just j-joking.." I say slightly louder. Lalna tilts his head slightly and sighs.

"I'm sorry Toby." Is all he says in response, his voice is soft and quiet. I curl up tighter, wrapping my arms around my knees and staring down at my feet.

"Possessive. Hmm. Possessed by whom, though?" Violet asks, her voice still strangely light, and she sounds almost as if she already knows the answer, and simply wants to see what Lalna will say. 

"That's what I can't quite figure out.." Lalna sighs, rubbing his face with his hands, though being careful not to touch the cut above his eye.

"I have an idea." Sparkles* says. "But something tells me you've thought of it too, you're just refusing to accept it." He adds, looking at the blonde sat beside him.

"It can't be." Lalna says bluntly as he turns to the red-haired musician. "It's just-"

"It would make sense Lalna. You can't of missed it, it was staring us right in the face. Quite literally." Violet interrupts. They all seem to know what the other is talking about.

"Of course I didn't miss it! How could I? I just.. It's not scientific." He says firmly, looking from Violet to Sparkles* and back again.

"Pfft. So what. What other explanation do you have? Hm?" Violet says, returning the firm tone with a slight growl.

"I don't have one. It's just a coincidence. I refuse to believe that it's him." Lalna says, sounding rather disgruntled, as he stands up and puts his sword back in it's sheath.

"The universe is never so lazy." Violet mutters as she watches him stand up. Lalna merely frowns at her for a few seconds. Clearly not willing to answer.

"Him? Him who?" I ask, looking up at the tall man in front of me. Not really sure what to expect.

"It doesn't matter." The scientist replies as he holds out his hand for me. I take it and let him pull me to my feet. Before I can say anything he wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer to him, walking forward a bit so that we're not so close to the others. He talks quietly, presumably so that Sparkles* and Violet can't hear. "Toby. I need you to try and stay calm." He says, a soft tone of unease in his voice.

"Stay calm? My big brother's been kidnapped and you want me to stay calm?" I hiss at him, starting to feel that odd aggression come back once more. He sighs yet again and squeezes my shoulder slightly.

"Yes. I do. I think that what happened has something to with how you've been feeling since Martyn was taken. I think that the magic flowing through you is being activated by you're slight.. Emotional instability.." He winces slightly as he finishes, almost as if he's expecting to be hit. I scowl at him for a moment, but then I start to understand what he's saying. "You and Martyn are very close, so not knowing where he is or if he's ok is bound to make you feel worried. But the fact that he's been, well, for lack of a better word, kidnapped. Has probably made it worse. And don't think I haven't noticed. Usually you're very calm and not easily angered. But I've seen fury in your eyes almost all day, and hints of aggression in your voice. You were almost growling at me when I found you in the Castle. And earlier, you kept jumping from almost laughing to glaring and snarling." He continues. Sounding rather anxious, yet the touch of fear in his voice is still there.

"O-Ok.." I stutter. "I'll try but... I-It's not.. It's not g-gonna be easy..." I say quietly as a lump starts to form in my throat, though as to why, I don't know. Lalna smiles gently, suddenly seeming much calmer, before carefully pulling me into a hug. Too tired to rebel, I let him wrap his long arms around me as I rest my head on his chest.

"You're gonna be ok Toby. We're all in this together." He says quietly. I smile as I feel a tear run down my cheek. As he moves away, I wipe my eyes with my sleeves and look up at him.

"I know.. It's just... I just want Martyn to be by my side again. For him to be safe." I sigh. Lalna smiles slightly and nods. But he doesn't speak. Violet comes over to us, a small smile on her face as she stands beside us.

"I hate to interrupt your little bonding moment boys, but I believe this is yours, Toby." She smiles at me and holds my sword out in front of her. I smile as I take it from her slowly, putting back in it's sheath, which is till attached to my belt. The feline suddenly doesn't seem at all scared or worried. Which I guess is a good thing. She turns to Lalna and frowns, moving his hair out of the cut above his eye. "That's still bleeding." She says, sounding much more serious.

"Yeah. I know." Lalna says flatly. "But I'm fine." Violet scowls at him and reaches into her trouser pocket, pulling out what looks like a slightly squashed roll of bandages. She tears a bit off the end of the roll and hands it to the scientist stood in front of her.

"Here. At least press this against it until the bleeding stops." She says firmly. Not wanting to cause an argument, Lalna obeys. Pressing the piece of fabric against the cut. Violet nods and then walks back over to Sparkles*. Lalna rolls his eyes and chuckles.

"Women." He mutters with a smile once Violet's out of earshot. I just smile at him. Feeling a bit guilty, knowing it was me who caused the injury in the first place, regardless of how minor it may be. "We should probably get going." The scientist says a bit louder as he turn round to face the others. "If we hang around here all day we're not going to get very far very quickly. And we've still got a lot of daylight left. No point wasting it." He grins as the others nod. Grabbing their things and getting ready to go. As Lalna goes to walk past me I step forward, stopping him, he looks at me with a blank expression. I think for a moment, trying to figure out how to word what I was going to say.

"Lalna. We live in a magical world. Not everything can be explained with science." I say slowly. He looks away from me and smiles slightly. But doesn't speak. He walks ahead a little way before I continue. "You can't hide it from me Lalna. Whatever it is. I need to know." This seems to require a response from him.

"I will tell you. But. I don't want to scare you. And besides. You've already got enough on your mind right now. And I don't want to risk saying when it might not be true." He says flatly, not meeting my gaze. I don't bother responding. I just nod. Though I want to tell him that I'm already petrified as to what happened, that I'm already pretty shaken up about the whole thing. One more little detail to put on top of the pile won't make much difference. Then again. I may be wrong.. I don't say anything though. I don't want to start an argument. He glances at me quickly before walking ahead again. Violet passes me, smiling. Sparkles* stops beside me. A slight hint of worry on his face.

"I wouldn't worry about it Toby. Everything will be ok in the end." He says. Looking at me. Smiling slightly, though his bright blue eyes are still tinted with fear. I nod again, though I can't quite muster a smile. "Come on." He continues. "Let's catch up with those two before we lose them." His smile grows wider, though it fades when he notices that I'm not smiling. "Come on." He repeats calmly as he starts walking ahead. I sigh before I follow behind.

I'm not sure whether it's because I feel so tired now. Or if it's just because I have one more thing to worry about. But for some reason. This entire escapade is starting to feel more and more hopeless. I wish I knew why Ridge had taken Martyn. If I knew that. Then maybe it'd help. But I don't know. And I'm so scared. Because something in the back of my mind is nagging me into thinking that's it my fault.. When it can't be.. Can it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. We get to see the aftermath if nothing else. More about what happened is in the next chapter. :D


	11. Just a Dream..?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toby's POV
> 
> Introducing a new character is so much fun :D  
> Though this chapter is very long, I didn't want to split it in two, so it's just one very long chapter..

I feel strange. Groggy. The world around me is black, for a moment I think I've gone blind, but when I hold my hands up in front of my face I realise that it's just dark. Or maybe everything is just black. I can't really tell. There's no light. But yet I can still see. It's a bit like being in limbo, actually. The ground I'm sitting on is cold and the air is equally as chilly. Where am I?

I look around, but I can't see anything. There's nothing here. Just me. But yet. I don't feel like I'm on my own. I feel like something's watching me..

"Ah. You're awake. Sort of.." A deep voice echoes around me, seeming to bounce off walls that aren't there. I jump to my feet and look around again, my heart starting to race at what's lurking in the shadows. The voice sounds familiar. But I don't know why. I don't think I've heard it before.. I hear slow footsteps approaching me, and I begin to see a figure standing about fifteen feet away from me. Shadows hiding their features. They're tall, and thin, but I can't identify them.

"H-Hello?" I stutter. Watching the figure cautiously. They stand there, hands behind their back, something about them seems.. Off... "W-Who are you? Where am I?" I add. Hating how I stutter when I'm scared.

"You're not really anywhere my friend, merely lost in your own mind. Physically, you're exactly where you were when you went to sleep." They say smoothly. For some reason the way they speak reminds me of Ridge, though their voice doesn't have quite the same edge to it as Ridge's does. This person's voice is almost mystical and eerily soft. I don't like it. Not one bit. But one thing confuses me. I don't remember going to sleep.. Probably not a good sign..

"Ok.." I start. Speaking very slowly. "But who are you?" Starting to feel a bit more confident, I edge forward slightly, hoping that maybe if I get a bit closer I'll be able to see their face.

"The blonde one is very good, isn't he. Good at figuring out what's going on." They say, completely ignoring my question. It takes me a moment to realise who he's talking about.

"What? Lalna? Well. He is a scientist. Figuring things out is kind of his job." I say, still a bit confused. Why is he talking about my friends? How does he even know them? I'm tempted to ask. But I'll wait. See what else he says.

"Lalna. Yes. Unusual name nowadays. I like it though. Traditional." He says, almost to himself. I can't see his face, but I can tell that he's smiling.

"Makes 'im sound like a pixie." I mutter, not expecting to be heard. Though that thought isn't entirely of my own creation. Honeydew's the one who came up with it, back when they were kids, but I always found it funny.

"Hm. Perhaps." He says quietly, apparently having heard me.  "You do have an unusually large group of friends, for someone so shy. They certainly are an odd group. So many different personalities, so many different abilities." He doesn't sound like he's talking to me, more like he's talking to himself, but still acknowledging that I'm listening to him.

"What do you know of my friends? How do you know them?!" I yell rather suddenly, immediately  regretting it.

"What do I know of your friends? I know everything you know. Plus a little more about those who have visited my domain. Which is a rather large number. Even you've been there. I was quite surprised when I saw you creeping around with your 'brother'." His tone changes to something almost spiteful at the mention of Martyn. Though I can't tell why. I don't know what he means by 'his domain', or how he knows 'everything I know' about my friends. That's kinda creepy actually, even if all this is just a dream.. All be it, a rather strange, lucid dream.. Hm. 

He takes a few steps towards me before he continues, though I still can't see his face. "Do you want proof? You look sceptical of what I'm saying." He doesn't give me a chance to respond before he continues. "Let's see. There's definitely a large variety in magical abilities. Some quite rare too. Seasonal magic is something you're lucky to see once a generation. Typical that the child I chose would end up best buddies with someone who carried it. Though in all fairness. Most people I've seen with it have some control." His voice is so bitter towards Martyn, and I can't fathom why it would be. If he knows everything about him that I know, then he knows an awful lot, but he should know that Martyn isn't a bad person. Not in the slightest. Ok, so, in the autumn months he does get a bit aggressive, but that's hardly his fault.. Control.. I can't deny that Martyn doesn't have a lot of control over his magic. Well, outside his spring and summer forms anyway. I think the staff at the Castle have grown so used to clearing away ice that 'de-thawing' everything Martyn touches in the winter months has just become part of the routine.Though I doubt it takes long to do. He seems to go from his bedroom to the bathroom to the kitchen and that's about it, unless I can drag him outside, which I occasionally can.

Woah woah woah wait just one second. Did he say 'The child he chose.'? What in the name of Notch does that mean?!

"Hmm. What else. Oh yes, the elements. So very many elemental bearers. Oh such a wonderfully rare sight to see in large groups. Fire, air, life, water, earth. And all the others that fit in between. You know a water bearer, how very rare, quite fascinating to watch, I find, water magic. Though the one you know's ability is somewhat limited due to one trait. Being able to breath underwater must be a godsend, to a mortal." Ok. So he's talking about Nilesy. That's easy enough to figure out. He's the only bearer of water magic that I know. I will admit that watching water swirl around and seemingly disobey gravity is quite cool to see,  it does wear the poor guy out pretty quick though. Apparently the magical trait that allows the water-breathing also restricts other power in most people, compensation I guess. Though I have always wondered how one finds out they can breath underwater.. Is there some magical indication or do you just jump into a swimming pool and see if you drown or not.. 

The fact he used the word 'mortal'. I don't like that. Who _am_ I talking too..?

"Who else, who else. Hmm. I suppose there's your local odd couple. They're not human. Neither of them. What is it you call them. 'The dwarf and the spaceman'? Ha. How quaint. Surprised that no one finds it odd to see a dwarf above ground. The alien's made himself at home though. Not that he really had a choice." Honeydew and Xephos. Yeah. Unusual pair. Never heard them called the 'local odd couple' before though. Considering Xephos has been with Lomadia for Notch knows how long and Honeydew's.. Well, Honeydew is Honeydew. What more can be said for the little man. "Oh and of course, to top it all off, there's a demigod. Not many people can claim to know a demigod personally. He's a lovely lad, isn't he, very good at what he does. Even if I have no authority over him, he'll only listen to my brother.." It took all my willpower to restrain myself from snapping back at how Ridge is most definitely not a 'lovely lad'. Far from it. He may have a nice side, but I've never seen it directed at me. I think he has a grudge against Martyn and, by extension, me. Even though I don't recall Martyn ever doing anything bad to him. Heck, if it weren't for our help, a lot of Ridge's 'friends' from his childhood would likely have been killed or lost when Lalna and Sjin decided to set off a couple nukes and overheat a nuclear reactor. You know, like ya do. 

All that's left of the village now is a crater, well, three, two from the nukes and one from where the reactor melted down. The area is still littered with rubble and long since discarded science equipment, even after everything calmed down the fires took weeks to stop burning. It's a miracle no one was killed. The place is still radioactive even after about five years have passed. Though I suppose that's no surprise. 

Ridge wasn't there when it went up. He had long since left to go to the ridiculous city that is Pangea. I still don't know how he found out and got back so quickly, but barely an hour after we'd arrived at the scene he was there. I'd never met him before then, so I had no clue who he was, I just assumed he had friends or family in the village and he was afraid he'd lost them. Right up to this day, I've never seen him as frantic and scared as he was then. I guess first impressions can be misleading. He's usually very calm under pressure. But he was jumping about and flying overhead, he barely said a word, but the look in his eyes was pure terror and fear. He only seemed to care that Lalna was safe. And, when the then budding scientist was pulled out of the wreckage, broken, bloody and barely conscious, well, it was the only time I've ever seen Ridge cry, whether it was relief, happiness, annoyance, frustration, anger, I don't know, but there were definitely tears. From what I've gathered, the two of them were a bit like Martyn and I when they were growing up, not actually related but still brothers none the less. 

It was so long ago now, but that day is still vivid in my mind. I remember going over to Ridge after Lalna had been taken away by the healers that had offered their assistance. Even then at the age of nineteen or so Ridge was stupidly tall, all though I suppose he was no taller than he is now, but to little twelve-year-old me he looked like a giant, though not quite as much as Rythian did.. I'd spoken to Ridge. Told him that Lalna would be fine, that the Kingdom's healers were some of the best around. He'd calmed down by that point, and I'd managed to get a smile out of him, even if he did still have tears in his eyes. He'd called me brave for coming out towards the destruction, when most my age would have ran away. Though in all fairness I'd just followed Martyn's lead, I didn't say that too him. After that, he'd ruffled my hair like Martyn used too.. And sometimes still does.. And then he flew off. I saw him frequently whilst Lalna was still recovering. But after all that was over. I hardly saw him for a long while. Not until the first Survival Games invitations, if you can call them that, started to arrive. Though I think Martyn and some of the others were in somewhat more regular contact with him. If I'd known at the beginning who he really was, or what he'd become, I probably would have left him alone. Ridge scares me now. He would have terrified me back then.

There were many firsts on that fateful day, but there were a lot of only's as well, and almost all of those seem to surround the damned demigod. Maybe he was a bit kinder back then, a bit less cruel and out for blood. Who knows. All I know, is that he seemed a lot different then on the verge of pure desperation, than he does now. Now he would likely watch everyone suffer rather than try to help. Knowing where his blood lust comes from would probably make it a bit easier to understand him. Or just make us want to steer clear of him more than we already do. One or the other.

I should stop reminiscing and carry on with trying to figure out who this.. this guy is. Hmm.

He mentioned a brother. And this brother of his.. No.. No that can't be right.

Ridge is a demigod, so, in theory, the only person who has any authority over him would be a god. So Notch. But that would mean that.. That.. Who I'm talking to is..

"Herobrine!" I blurt out, instantly slapping my hands over my mouth as I stare at the figure in front of me, my eyes wide, not sure on what reaction I'm going to get.

"Aha! You figured it out! Finally!" He exclaims almost joyfully, holding his arms out at his sides. But mere seconds later the atmosphere suddenly seems much darker, his hands are back at his sides, clenched into fists. The infamous white glow appears around his eyes, illuminating his face as he slowly starts walking towards me. When he speaks again his tone is laced with anger. "It took you long enough." He growls as he keeps moving closer. I stumble backwards, not so keen on the gap between us getting smaller.

"I--I--" I stutter as I move away from him, my words failing me. Not able to move my gaze from those bright white eyes, quite literally like staring at something from a horror story. Because that's all he ever was. Everyone believes in Notch, it's a Minecraftian religion dating back centuries And if you know someone like Ridge then you accept that there is someone up in the Aether watching us. But Herobrine. The Devil. A demon. Lord of the Nether. Whatever people want to call him. The only people who think he's real are little kids and the overly superstitious. He's just a tale people tell around the campfire to scare each other. Just a fairy tale.. So why is he.. Why is he in my head..

"It's really quite funny. I've been a part of you for nearly ten years and until yesterday I couldn't even latch onto your consciousness properly. Oh it was fantastic to finally have control over the little boy I thought I'd lost. It's such a shame your friends felt the need to fight back!" His voice is full of anger and sarcasm it's terrifying. But I don't understand. How has he been a part of me? How does that even make sense!

"I--I--H-How--" I can't get any words out of my mouth, and that's just scaring me even more! A sly smile appears on his face as he stops walking, now standing less that six feet from me.

"Lost for words? I shouldn't have expected you to say much. You don't usually do the talking. Do you. It's that damned 'brother' of yours." The sly grin disappears as his voice returns to that spiteful tone he'd used before when mentioning Martyn. I'll admit that it doesn't happen very often, but when people hate on Martyn, I get annoyed. Just as he get's overly protective of me when people insult me or whatever -Which actually happens more than you'd think. Some people don't seem to care that their bashing the King's best friend. But I think it's the fact that he sounds so bitter but yet won't refer to Martyn by name. Actually, now that I think about it, he hasn't referred to any of my friends by name. "Typical really. I thought I'd found someone who could be of use to me. But then I end up with _you_. You don't realise what your precious brother's done do you. You love him so much and you don't even realise. The instance you showed a weakness he grabbed it and moulded you into the coward that you are!" He's essentially yelling now.  The earlier smoothness of his deep voice has vanished and has been replaced with harsh, sharp tone that I'm really not so keen on.

"I'm not a coward!" I snap, suddenly finding my voice. I may not be brave. But I'm not that bad, am I?

"Oh no, nooo of course not." He almost laughs, his voice filled with sarcasm. "A brave person wouldn't hide and flee, make someone else do all the work. They'd actually know how to hold a sword!" That horrible shrill growl had come back and I couldn't help but flinch at it.

"Martyn is a good man. He's my best friend, he's never done anything bad to me, and I'm not a coward! And even if I was it wouldn't be Martyn's fault! I may not be the bravest person around but that doesn't make me a coward!" I yell, quickly trying to compose myself, though I can feel tears in my eyes and the smirk on his face as he listens to me is just making things worse.

"Don't think you can lie to me. I have followed you since you were _ten years old_ , I know exactly how your life has played out so don't even _think_ about twisting the truth about who you are because I _know_ who you are right down to the finest little detail. And you are an incapable, unsociable, coward. You quite literally can not fight to save your life, always relying on your 'big brother'. You may have lots of friends from all different places but you barely speak to any of them. And you're so quiet, so shy, so calm and collected, you'll forgive anyone for their wrong doings. But you'll run from the slightest hint of danger. Honestly, I don't know why he puts up with you." He starts off sounding so furious, but slowly his voice retreats back to something calmer, though still dripping with hatred. He turns away from me, closing his eyes, the white glow still seeping through from under his eyelids. A much more relaxed smile appears on his face, as he continues. "I can thank him for one thing though." He grins as he turns back to me. Tucking his hands into his trouser pockets as he takes a few more steps towards me. "If he hadn't of left you alone in the forest that night, if you hadn't gotten separated, I never would have found you." He sounds so happy about it..

"I wish you hadn't.. You made me attack my friends.." I growl. He just smiles and shrugs. If it weren't for the fact that moments ago he'd been yelling at me and this eyes were glowing it would have seemed genuine.

"I did. And it was excellent. All be it, short-lived. You should let me take over more often. It's fun."

"No. No it's not. I was so confused. I blacked out and then woke up on the floor, tired and aching. That's not normal. You can't just take over some ones mind like that." My voice suddenly sounds much calmer, but I don't feel calmer, I feel just as agitated and frightened as before. "Why were you even in the forest that night. Why did you.. Do whatever you did to me..?"

"Because sitting around in the Nether all day just isn't the same anymore. Frankly even I'm beginning to think the place is just a big, hot, red hell hole. I like to interact with people who aren't zombified pigs. My brother likes to sit in his clouds with his chums, watching you lot run around the Overworld until you're blown sky-high by a creeper. He doesn't interact directly. Only through his various demigods, like your friend.

"But as for me. I like to have some control over the world I'm apart of. I think being a part of the affairs of mortals is highly entertaining. That's where all your little fairy tales came from. People seeing me wondering the Overworld hundreds of years ago, back when believing in me beyond the age of eight was a bit more common. At first they thought it was an omen, as the superstitious always do when they see something they don't understand. But after a while they began to tell the tales to their children, about how they saw a demon in the woods, or in the mine, or just outside the city gates. Now I'm just a campfire story.

"But that doesn't bother me. No no. People still think they've seen me when they spot that white glow in the dark. It's that after all these years I still can't spend much time among you lot in my physical form. I'm still bound to the Nether, I get pulled back if I spend too much time away. It's infuriating. 

But, I can leave a mental link. That's easy and oh so much fun." He pauses as he closes the gap between us. One hand lingering in front of him. "And that, my friend, is what I did to you." That sly grin spreads across his face again as he jabs a finger into my chest. I move back a bit, not all that comfortable with him standing so close. I look up at him, noticing something I hadn't really expected. He looks.. Young. His face is crisscrossed with scars. But yet he still looks young. I don't know why, I mean, he is immortal, so it's like he's gonna age at all, I just hadn't expected him to look like he was in his twenties. Dark, scruffy hair and a bit of stubble lining his chin. Loose fitting shirt and jeans. If it weren't for the eyes, you really wouldn't think he was a god, or devil, or whatever. He's also a few inches taller than me. Why is everyone taller than me?

"Why are you telling me this?" Is all I can think to say. Though it is a valid question. Why would he tell me all this?

"Because you were bound to find out it was me eventually, your little scientist friend already knows its me, he just won't believe it to be true. Of course, you can relay what I've said here to him, when you wake up. But he probably won't believe you." He pauses for a moment. Holding one hand up and rubbing his fingers together absently, looking down at his hand instead of at me. "Speaking of. When I click my fingers you'll wake up. You'll remember everything we've discussed. Do what you will with the information. I may even come and say hi." His hand falls back down to his side as he glances up at me. "Anything else you want to say before I send you back?"

"Yes. A couple of things. Firstly. Creating some sort of connection to a ten-year old kid and then watching them grow up is really, really creepy." I start. He just shrugs, hands back in his pockets, not meeting my gaze. "Secondly. You told me not to lie, because you'd be able to tell if I was. Which is fair enough I guess. But yet you were definitely lying to me. Martyn isn't the reason I am the way I am. If anything I blame you for me being so shy. I was fine until you came along." He holds up a hand to get me to stop talking, though he still doesn't look at me.

"No. No that wasn't my fault. Not directly anyway. Any changes in your personality since that day aren't my doing. It just happened. And yes. I did lie. But I wanted to see how you'd react to me bad-mouthing the Sapling King. He is the one you're going through all this nonsense for. I can't decide whether I'm on your side or the demigod's though. I know why he's taken your friend, which makes it just that bit harder. But no. Your shyness and cowardice has nothing to do with me." He says simply, glancing at me a couple of times but not properly looking up at me.

"Ok. I guess.. But.. But why tell me this now? You could have confronted me years ago." I say slowly. Starting to feel a bit less scared, but still not all that comfortable with how close he is to me. He looks up at me and shrugs again before he speaks.

"I couldn't actually. No. Like I said, I've only just been able to gain any control over you. If I could have spoken to you before I would have. Trust me." He says simply. He leans closer to me and puts his hand on my shoulder, I'm not so keen on this, and my body grows tense as those glowing white eyes stare at me. "Ready to go back to the waking world now? The sun'll be coming up in a couple of hours." He says, his voice sounding rather smooth again as he smiles at me. I nod quickly and his smile grows wider. "Very well." He takes a step back and holds up his hand again, a faint white glow surrounds his fingers. "Good luck, by the way. All this drama is very exciting, even if someone will probably end up dead." His grin shifts back into that sly smirk. "Oh, and please do lose control of your emotions again. It's so much fun." He chuckles darkly, I simply scowl at him, not given a chance to reply before he clicks his fingers together. The white glow spreads very quickly, filling my vision. I shield my eyes from the light as everything begins to fade away. I feel like I'm drifting as the white slowly turns to black, before everything vanishes..

\--

I wake up with a start, gasping for breath, I roll onto my side and start coughing and spluttering. Once the coughing fit's passed I just lie there, catching my breath. I look around as my eyes adjust to the darkness, moving my head slightly. I'm in a tent. Ok. I sit up slowly, my head spinning for a moment.

"Talk about a weird dream.." I mutter, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand. Part of me wants to believe that I really was talking to Herobrine, but at the same time, part of me wants it to have just been a strange dream, even if I did have control over myself and it did seem very real.. He is a god, so maybe he could talk to people in their dreams, but it still seems a bit far-fetched... Ugh.. I don't know what to think.

I'm woken from my thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming from outside. I tense up slightly, not sure what to expect. But I instantly relax as I see a familiar blonde head poke through the door, a worried look on his face.

"You all right?" Lalna says, concerned. He looks tired, though not much more than he usually does. I nod as I pull my knees up against my chest, wrapping my arms around them.

"Yeah. Just had a weird dream. That's all." I say quietly, not meeting Lalna's gaze as he comes in a sits in front of me. I'm not sure whether to say that in my dream, if it was really a dream, I had a conversation with a demon. Maybe I'll mention it later. "I don't really remember going to sleep though.." I add, glancing up at him for a moment.

"Not surprising, you weren't really with it for most of the afternoon. Didn't eat anything when we stopped for lunch, and just sort of sat and stared into space when we set up camp." The scientist smiles as he speaks, his voice slightly hushed, presumably not to wake the others.

"Sorry." I say slightly louder. He just chuckles and shrugs it off. I look up at him before I continue. "You look tired. Why aren't you asleep?"

"Couldn't get to sleep. So I thought I'd keep watch, just in case. I didn't really expect to get any sleep though, I rarely do when I get all stressed out like this." He says plainly, a smile playing at his lips. "You on the other hand were out like a light the instant your head touched the pillow." He grins at me, and I manage a small smile in return. I'm about to respond when my stomach growls. I groan as I curl up tighter.

"You sure you're ok?" Lalna asks, tilting his head to the side slightly, his smile vanishing.

"Hungry.." I mutter, looking down at my feet. Lalna chuckles before he speaks.

"Thought you might be, doubt you've eaten since this morning. Come on, I think we've got some stuff left over that you can have." He smiles again as he crawls out the tent. I follow behind slowly, feeling a bit dizzy as I stand up.

As I step outside, the bright orange glare from the campfire makes me squint as my eyes adjust. I pull my hood up over my head as the chilly air outside makes me shiver. I walk over to Lalna, who's fishing through a bag. Rubbing my arms to try to keep warm, it's not usually this cold in the summer, even at night.. I can't keep my eyes off the shadows though, it's almost like I want to see him lurking around, watching me..

"Here." Lalna says, reminding me of the reason I came out here. I look back at him to see him holding an apple. He tosses it to me and I catch it easily. Years of Martyn tossing things at me whilst he's rooting through the various junk in his chests has left me with reaction times that rival his. Well, when it comes to things like that anyway, I'm still useless in a fight.

"Thanks." I smile at him as he stands up. I keep glancing off into the darkness, I don't even want to, but I can't stop myself.. Lalna yawns, stretching his arms above his head. As he looks at me again he seems to catch me looking at the shadows.

"No need to be so cautious, no monsters are gonna get us here." He smiles at me, I know that he's right, they won't, the areas well-lit up and there's no doubt he's set up some kind of gadget to keep any nearby monsters away, but that's not why I keep looking over there. Maybe I should tell him, he may not believe me, but it's worth a shot.. Maybe..

"Yeah.. I know I'm just.. I'm just tired.." I say quietly before taking a bite out of the apple he gave me. We both remain silent for a while before I speak again. "Lalna. You know what happened earlier."

"Yeah, of course, why?" The scientist says plainly as he sits down on the grass in front of the campfire, warming his hands, well, hand, the one not made of metal, on the heat from the flames. I sit beside him, pulling my knees up against my chest, folding my arms on top, still holding the apple loosely in one hand.

"Well.. I.. I think.. I know.. What caused it." I say slowly, staring at the dancing flames in front of me rather than looking at the blonde.

"You do?" He sounds doubtful, yet also a bit worried. I look at him in the corner of my eyes and nod. "How?" I don't speak for a moment, trying to figure out how to word it without it making me sound mad.

"Let's just say I had a weird dream, that wasn't really a dream, more like a vision that I was a part of. That involved me meeting and talking to.. Well.. The devil, Lord of the Nether. Whatever you want to call him. You know how the stories go, Lalna. About how Notch sealed his brother in the Nether to stop him from causing anymore havoc in the Overworld or in the Aether. Well. Turns out, he can still come here, and he can still interact with us mortals." I say a bit too quickly, I pause for a moment, starting to feel a bit choked up. "It's Herobrine, and he's in my head." My voice cracks and the gravity of everything suddenly hits me, I curl up tighter, burying my head in my arms, hiding the tears I feel falling down my cheeks. I hear Lalna sigh, though I can't quite figure out why. He puts his hand on my shoulder, and I can feel his green eyes looking at me.

"I did have my suspicions. But I just can't bring myself to believe that its him. He's just a story. And, well, it was just a dream, Toby." He says slowly. I lift my head slightly so that I can meet his gaze.

"Then how come it felt so real, I didn't feel like I was in a dream. I want it to have been a dream, I really really do. But I didn't even think that it would have been him so why would I have dreamed about him. He kept talking about my friends, he knows so much, all because he's been a part of me for so long." I stop talking as I try to stop myself from crying. Lalna looks uncertain, but also a bit annoyed. He sighs again as he takes his hand off my shoulder and puts it back in his lap.

"I think all this stress is making you delusional Toby." He says bluntly. I feel a wave of frustration flood over me, a quiet growl coming from the back of my throat as I lift my head fully, I don't look at the scientist, I merely stare off past the fire into the forest. I feel a smirk pulling at my lips.

"Me, delusional.." I mutter, not liking the twisted tone in my voice. Lalna doesn't seem to hear me though. I turn to face him, scowling. "I'm delusional?" I growl, a bit louder this time, he looks up at me. Before I even know what's happening, I've scampered forwards, leaning over the blonde as he falls back into the grass, staring up at me wide-eyed.  "You're the one who's **fucking** delusional!" I snarl, jabbing my finger into his chest. "You're so intent on believing that Ridge is a decent guy just 'cos you've got a crush on the bastard. You just can't accept that he's a bloodthirsty maniac! He's a demigod Lalna, he quite literally stands above the rest of us, he can do whatever the **fuck** he wants with us and get away with it 'cos he knows he has the authority to do so! He _kidnapped_ my brother for fuck sake, if that doesn't prove he's a bad guy then I don't know what will!" I yell, suddenly not caring if I wake the others. Lalna's eyes suddenly fill with anger, he glares at me, he's not happy. In the blink of and eye he's reached out and grabbed the front of my hoodie, pulling me closer so that our faces are inches apart.

"Let me make one thing clear." He hisses, his voice much quieter than mine was. "I do **not** have a crush on Ridge, and even if I did what would it matter? As you say, he's a demigod, he stands above us, why would he accept, yet alone return a mere mortals feelings." He tightens his grip around my jumper, still giving me a death glare, I can suddenly see the madmen who blew his old home to smithereens with a nuke, who fought pointless wars against people who were supposed to be his friends. I always seem to forget that behind the soft green eyes and eccentric personality is a dark, dangerous man.. His brow furrows even further before he continues. "Watch your tongue Cottrell, I do not appreciate people yelling at me, especially over _stupid, petty_ things like this, so if you want my help then. Get. Your. Act. Together." He pauses for a moment as he takes a breath. "Am I understood?" He suddenly sounds calmer, but still under toned with anger, and I can still see the madman in his eyes. I start to realise what I've said, and how I said it. All the fury inside me flows away and I swallow hard. Lalna _never_ refers to anyone by their surnames. He doesn't even do it sarcastically. I think I've only heard him do it once before when he was _really_  pissed off with Sjin. But then he always seems to be pissed off with Sjin. Still, the spite as he says my name isn't lost on me. I nod quickly, and he let's go of my hoodie, pushing me away from him as he does so. He turns his back to me, staring off into the forest. 

I sigh as I sit up, half expecting one of the others to appear and start yelling at us for waking them, but neither of them seem to have woken. I turn away from Lalna, curling up again. I spot the half-eaten apple lying on the ground where I dropped it, I don't bother picking it up. I don't feel like eating anymore. 

We sit in silence for what seems like hours before I hear anything that isn't the distant growls and snarls of monsters. I glance over my shoulder to see Lalna shuffling backwards, gaze fixed on something in the trees.

"T-Toby.." He stutters, only just loud enough for me to hear. I turn around properly and see what he's looking at. I scurry over to the scientist on my hands and knees, not daring to blink in case the familiar figure disappears. He's just stood there, so casually, leaning against a tree, legs crossed at the ankle, arms folded across his chest. The glow from his eyes making the sly grin on his face visible in the darkness.

"Have fun." The figure grins. His tone is oddly sarcastic as he does a two-fingered salute, before disappearing in a flurry of red particles. I look at Lalna, who's still staring at the now empty spot, open-mouthed, wide-eyed. He swallows as he looks at me slowly, though he doesn't seem able to keep my gaze.

"Well..." He says shakily. "That disproves my theory.." He finally manages to look me in the eye, he bites his lip as he tries to smile, though his eyes are still wide with fear and shock. "So much for fairy tales.. Huh.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now you know what happened at the end of chapter 8. Or what caused it if nothing else.  
> The 'big reveal' so to speak, is a little earlier than I originally intended, but I wanted to get the story going, too much filler in this story >


	12. Escape Attempt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Martyn's POV

I'm not sure if I was sleeping or just completely zoned out. But I'm brought back to reality by somebody yelling.

"I said _get out_!"

I listen for a moment. But apparently I can only hear one side of the conversation. As a few seconds later I hear the same voice yell again.

"You're not supposed to be here! Now _get out_ before I _kick you out_!"

Who _is_ that? I recognise the voice.. But.. Wait a minute.. That's.. That's _Ridge_ yelling.. But.. Why?  
"Oh for _fuck sake_ , will you just _leave!_ I have work to do!"

Bloody hell.. Who ticked him off? Ridge _never_ yells. His voice is generally deep and loud he doesn't _need_ to shout to get people's attention. Even when he's angry he doesn't raise his voice. He just.. _Doesn't_. Though frankly, he doesn't really need too, most people cower away at the sight of him yet alone anything else.  
I'd like to know what this 'work' of his entails though..

"Yes. Now _leave. Me. **Alone!**_ "

Damn.. Someone's really pissed him off. I wonder who's wandered onto his property.. Hmm.. Not sure if I actually _want_ to know, but it would be interesting to see who is capable of _really_ pissing Ridge off. Then again, curiosity has been known to get me into trouble in the past.. Frequently..

Everything goes silent for a while. But after a few minutes I start to hear footsteps. Loud, fast paced footsteps coming towards me. I slide up the wall into a standing position. No doubt that this is Ridge coming towards me. And if he sees me sat slouched against the wall he may take advantage of it. I want to appear calm and collected. Even if I'm still very scared on the inside and a bit stiff from sitting on the hard ground.

The footsteps stop for a moment. And then there's a bright flash of gold light that takes me by surprise and dazes me for a moment. When I look back I see that the ice around the door has melted, and mere seconds later Ridge storms in. 

Let's just say that he looks absolutely furious.

His dark eyes are shining with fury, flecks of gold scattered across them from where he's activated his magic. His usually neat brown hair is slightly ruffled, he looks incredibly tense and his brow is furrowed in a nasty scowl. I can't say I'm too keen on this.. I've never seen him so angry before.. Who _was_ he yelling at? 

Has he come to take his anger out on _me..?_

He looks around the room quickly before his gaze stops on me, his eyes narrow as the last of the gold specks vanish.

"What did you do?" His voice is back to its normal volume, but it's very sharp, not soft like usual, and the aggression is very prominent. I want to keep a straight face and stay calm, but I can't help but flinch slightly as he speaks with such a harsh tone. Not trusting my voice to stay steady for the moment, I simply shrug. He looks at me like I'm an idiot before he speaks again. "You've frozen this entire room and twenty metres of corridor!" He almost yells, before muttering something I can't quite make out. Suddenly feeling a bit too confident I reply almost instantly.

"Yeah. But not intentionally." I pause for a moment. Managing a smile that could be mistaken for cheek before I continue. Tucking my hands into my trouser pockets. "I'm sure you know as well as I do Ridge, that I don't exactly have complete control over my ice essence."

"You have _no_ control over your ice essence, I've known that for years. I forced you into your Winter Form to see the full extent of it. But I didn't expect.. _This.._ " The anger in his voice has more or less vanished but it's still visible on his face and in the way he's standing. I don't respond. I'm not really sure how too. I glance across the room, my gaze focusing on the open door for a moment, part of me wants to make a run for it. But that would be a stupid idea. Ridge would cut me down in seconds before I'd even made it through the door..

After a couple of minutes of silence Ridge leans back against the wall - which is still coated in a thick layer of ice - though he doesn't seem to notice - and puts his head in his hands. Behind the anger. I start to realise that he looks rather tired - though I probably look pretty damned exhausted myself.. Maybe that's why he got so angry at whoever it was he was yelling at. I keep my distance from him. I don't think going near him would be a good idea. Chances are he's got a sword hidden under his coat and even if he doesn't he could easily just spawn one in with very little effort. Still, I feel a little awkward just standing here. Maybe I should try making conversation..

"Tired?" I ask, trying to sound as casual as I can.

"Yes." He says simply, running a hand through his hair as the other falls to his side, he looks at me, suddenly seeming much calmer. "But then you're hardly well rested." He adds. Folding his arms across his chest. I smile slightly, almost genuinely, before I respond.

"This is true. I could sleep, if I had something other than stone and ice to lay on." I say nonchalantly. Somehow managing to meet his gaze without flinching away, which most people usually do when they see him looking at them with those jet black eyes..

"I'm not giving you a bed if that's what you're asking." He says plainly. Not looking away from me.

"I didn't expect you too. I'd just freeze that as well." I shrug. I didn't really expect him to give me anything to lay on. He's made it pretty clear that he doesn't care if I'm suffering or not.

He doesn't respond to me. And we stand in silence again for a while. I am wondering why he came in here actually. At first I thought he'd take his anger out on me. But that didn't happen. He didn't even yell at me. He's just been talking to me. I'm not sure how long it's been since I last spoke to him. I've been zoning in and out of awareness - or dozing off and then waking up for ten minutes before falling asleep again, one or the other - for what seems like days. But something tells me it really hasn't been that long.

I've had time to think though. About why I'm here. But the main thing I can't get off my mind, is what Ridge said about Toby. 

_'With magic like that, bravery could cause a massacre.'._

What did he mean by that? I can't even think of a type of magic that would work like that. Ender magic is powerful but it's almost _unheard_ of in humans. There's _no way_ Toby carries that. 

Elements can be dangerous for _everyone_ if not properly controlled (I'm a very good example of that) but they tend to show through about the same time as any other magic. Most people I know with an Elemental essence were in their teens when the magic started to become usable (Myself included). If Toby had an Element it would have appeared by now. 

Unspecialised magic is, well, unspecialised. You can't really do anything with it. Not directly anyway. But it's still noticeable if you know what you're looking for. If Toby had even the slightest trace, I'd have seen it. I'd have _felt_ it. 

Pure magic is the most common type, I know several people with it. It's usually the most well-rounded, you can learn pretty much any spell as long as your base ability is capable of letting you pull it off. It can be incredibly powerful, and if certain spells are learnt, incredibly _dangerous_. But it's also pretty easy to identify. With the usual glowing eyes when the magic is activated and a potent aura that other magic carriers can sense, even when the essence is laying dormant. I'd have _definitely_ felt something coming from Toby. I can sense Sjin's aura from outside the Sips co. compound and his Pure essence isn't excessively strong, all though that may be partly because he has a very slight Element as well. But my point still stands. If Toby had that essence, even if _he_ didn't know it was there. _I_ would.

I can't think of anything else it could be. The only other types of magic I can think of are what Ridge has, which is Demigod magic so that's definitely not what Toby apparently carries. And what Xephos and Will have. Which is basically Pure magic but a little twisted and a bit more potent (Even more so in Xephos' case), though since they aren't from Minecraftia I can't properly compare it to anything else.

Some people have a mix of different types. But that's very rare. (Though I still know at least three people with multiple essences..) Though they can block one another out or weaken noticeable auras, so detecting them can be harder, but still, the simple fact that I would have seen _something_ still stands. I just can't figure this out.. It doesn't make any sense..

I could ask Ridge, whilst he's here. See what he says about it.. Maybe try to get some more information from him.. See if he was telling the truth and not just trying to wind me up..

"So.." I start, Ridge doesn't pay any attention, too busy staring down at his boots. "What you said about Toby earlier.. W-Was that true? Or were you just winding me up?" I can't _believe_ I stuttered.. Ugh. Way to go Martyn.. Ridge is a dog in name and in nature, he can smell fear, I'm sure of it. He'll pick up on that. He probably already has..

He looks up at me, a cheeky smile spreading across his lips as he stands up straight. His hands disappearing into his jacket pockets, leaning forwards slightly as he nods at me.

"Now Martyn, I would never do that." He says simply, his smile growing wider, revealing perfect, sharp teeth. There's no way his teeth are naturally that straight and even. Even if there is a slight gap between the front two. He tilts his head slightly, his fringe falling down over his eyes. "You've been trying to figure it out haven't you." He adds. I suddenly find myself unable to meet his gaze. Looking down at the icy floor as I try to think straight and come up with a response.

"I have yes. But I _can't_ figure it out. If Toby had a magical essence I'd have seen _something_. Or if not, then at least _felt_ something. Just the slightest aura coming from him. But I haven't. I've gone through every type of magic I can think of in my head. But none of them fit what you've said. I... I don't believe you.." I say rather quickly. Managing to look him in the eye properly as I finish. He crosses his arms across his chest again, looking down at me with a devilish spark in his eyes.

"That's a shame." He says, almost sounding disappointed as he closes his eyes for a moment, before looking back up at me, a broad grin spreading across his face. "Because it's oh so very true."

"No!" I half shout without thinking. "He's not! He.. He can't be.." Getting a strong feeling of déjà vu right about now.. I can feel my confidence slipping as my voice starts to grow quiet again. Ridge chuckles lightly and shakes his head.

"Martyn, you can deny it all you want. But your little brother has a Dark essence that could destroy him." He sounds so happy about it.. My eyes grow wide and my heart starts pounding. I suddenly feel like there's something caught in my throat. All I can do is stare at the ground, trying to figure all this out.. Dark magic.. No..

"No.." Is all I manage to say.. And even then it's barely above a whisper. Ridge hears me though. And I see his grin grow wider in the corner of my eye. I look up at him but don't move my head. "That's not possible. I'd have felt it.." I all but whimper. Finding that I can't seem to raise my voice back to its usual level.

"Common misconception there, Martyn. Dark magic may be potent and powerful. But it's practically _invisible_." He says slyly. Seconds after he finishes speaking he vanishes. I lift my head and look around, but I can't see him. Moments later I feel something grab my shoulders tightly, making me gasp and freeze up in shock. After a few more seconds I see hands on my shoulders. And as I turn my head slightly I see Ridge stood behind me. His hands gripping my shoulders. His eyes rimmed with gold as he casts some sort of spell, presumably to stop my magic from encasing his hands with ice.. His smile has changed from sly and cheeky to his usual devilish smirk.

"You're lying.." I mutter. His smile vanishes and he pouts, squeezing my shoulders a little. He moves slightly closer to me, I can feel the ends of his long coat brush against my legs and his warm breath on my neck. And it _stings_. Why does it sting? Heat agitates me in my Winter form sure, but it doesn't hurt.. Usually.. Then again.. People don't tend to get close to me when I'm like this..  Still, it's _weird_.. I try to ignore the odd pain and the general awkwardness of how he's standing behind me as I try to steady my breathing.. But it's hard, my heart is racing in my chest and I don't dare turn around fully and look at him straight on. What _is_ he doing..?

"I wouldn't lie to you, Martyn." He says softly, his voice loud in my ear.

"How do you know?" I say quietly between shaky breaths. He stands up straight, his grip loosening around my shoulders as his hands move down slightly so that they're resting on my shoulder blades. The gesture would almost be comforting if it wasn't _him_ doing it..

"Martyn." He starts, his voice still soft and calm. "I can scan a persons magical ability with practically no effort. I could do it to you right now if I wanted. It's easy."

"I know you can. But what does that have to do with anything?" I say slightly louder, turning my head a little more so I can see his face properly.

"I started picking up on Toby's little trait about a year ago, and it's just been getting stronger ever since. But over the past twenty-four hours it's really spiked. Hitting full power this morning. It's already starting to tear him apart." He suddenly sounds so excited. Thrilled to be talking about something so.. Horrid. But I don't _think_ that he's lying anymore. It's not all that strange to me that Ridge would be enjoying seeing someone suffer. And he sounds so genuinely happy about it.. It's just so hard to get my head around.. Toby and Dark magic.. I just _don't want it_ to be true.. I don't _want_ to believe it..

"No.." I mutter.

"Yes." He responds cooly.

"No!" I suddenly snap. Not quite expecting to say it so loud. I lurch forward and stumble away from him. My feet skidding slightly on the ice as I turn on my heel to face him. I seem to have taken him by surprise, as for a moment his hands are still hovering in front of him and his eyes are slightly wide. He blinks and the gold rim around his eyes is gone, he looks at me and squints, like he's waiting for me to explain myself.. "No!" I yell again. "No no no.." I mumble to myself, burying my head in my hands as I try to think.

"Martyn-" He starts, taking a step forward, but he stops as soon as I look up at him. I can feel my magic crackling through my fingers and that's never a good thing, my eyes are probably starting to brighten as my magic becomes more active too..

"You're enjoying this. _Aren't you_. Watching me suffer. Hurting me and telling me these things that you know I just _don't want_ to be true.." I say rather quickly, my voice still quiet. I look at Ridge through the corner of my eye. And he's _grinning_. No spite or cheek or anything. He looks so happy all of a sudden. It's like.. Like the smile I see him wearing when he's perched up in the trees, watching us fight and kill one another in his Survival Games..

He doesn't speak. He just chuckles lightly and nods his head. Rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as he tucks his hands into his trouser pockets. Pushing his long coat to the side as he does so, revealing a shimmering diamond blade hiding behind the dark fabric. No surprise there..

I stand up straight and glare at him, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. I can feel my magic growing stronger and chances are Ridge will pick up on that too. I don't want to attack him. There'd be no point. But if he thinks that I'm planning on striking.. He won't hesitate on trying to get the first hit..

"That's the only reason you brought me here. Isn't it." I suddenly feel much more confident and my voice is back to its usual level, all be it a little sterner than usual. He doesn't reply, so I continue. "Because you want someone to play with between your _precious_ Survival Games! You can't wait to torture us then so you thought you'd have a little fun with me in the mean time!! That's the only reason I'm here! Isn't it!?" I all but scream. Usually I'd hate to show so much aggression in my voice, but honestly. I've stopped caring. Ridge still doesn't respond. " _ **Isn't it!!?**_ " Ridge looks at me with an eyebrow raised. He sighs before he speaks. His voice remarkably flat compared to mine..

"Martyn, I assure you there is a perfectly good reason for you to be here." His voice is soft and calm. And I _don't like it_. Not one bit..

"Then tell me!!" I cry, my voice cracking. My vision is beginning to tint with blue as my eyes glow brighter. My magic surging stronger as I start to lose control..

"No." Ridge says simply, a cheeky smirk appears on his face before he continues. "That'd spoil the fun." I grit my teeth and my nails are pressed so tightly to my palms now that it _hurts_. But I pay no attention. My vision is lined with bright blue and my eyes are emitting a very noticeable light. Ridge tilts his head, still smirking, waiting for me to reply. But I don't. I _can't_. I can't find the words.

My hands are starting to feel cold. And I _know_ what _that_ means. That means that my magic is overcharged. And that is _not_ a good thing at the best of times.. Yet alone right now, when the person stood in front of me is _really_ not the kind of person I want to get into a magic battle with..

But I feel so.. _Angry_ , with him.. But that's what he wants.. Right? He _wants_ me to lose control of myself.. Why else would he be telling me these things. Taunting me..

Maybe learning to control my Ice Element when I had the chance would have been a good idea..

I stretch my fingers out and immediately feel that cold sensation travel up my arms, magic sparking at my fingertips, an icy mist appearing beneath my palms. 

There's an open door less than five metres from me, a chance at freedom. Ridge won't kill me. I'm sure of that. He'll hurt me if he catches me but he won't kill me. He wouldn't have gone to all the hassle of bringing me here just to kill me..  
Maybe I _could_ make a run for it.. Maybe..

I throw one of my hands out in front of me, magic crackling through my fingers as the mist around my palm flies forwards, almost like I know what I'm doing.. In a matter of seconds it solidifies in the air. Ridge's eyes grow wide, and before he has a chance to react, the bolt of ice slams straight into his chest. I glance at the door, and make a split second decision to run whilst he's distracted.

And so I do. I run and I don't look back. Large strides clearing the ground quickly. The ice in the corridor begins to thicken and reform with each step. And for a moment I feel the same thrill as I get when I'm running from mobs in the forest..

But it doesn't last long. I just make out a corner through the shadows, perhaps twenty-five metres from the door I came from, when I feel something wrap itself around my ankle. I trip and fall and only just manage to stop myself from banging my head on the hard stone floor. 

I stare at the ground for a moment, slightly dazed by the sudden fall. Before rolling onto my back, sitting up slightly, the first thing I see is a flare of golden magic flying towards me. I instinctively hold my arm up in front of me, in an attempt to protect myself from it. But in the process I somehow activate another spell. And a glistening shield of ice appears floating in front of me. The blast hits the ice, causing it to shatter on contact. But none of the oncoming magic hits me. 

I try to scramble to my feet, but I freeze as soon as I see Ridge standing at the other end of the corridor. His eyes tinted with a gold light. His eyes are narrow and filled with anger, but at the same time, he's smirking, cheeky and devilish like usual. He keeps his distance from me. And I take that as a chance to try to get back up again. But my knees hurt from where I fell, my whole body is shaking and I feel a little dizzy all of a sudden. I look up at him, breathing heavily. Waiting for him to say something.

"Oh, Martyn.." He sighs, looking down at the floor and shaking his head. "What was that for?" He looks at me again, all previous emotions having vanished and been replaced with something I can only really describe as disappointment. There's still an alarming amount of gold in his eyes though..

I don't respond. I simply glare at him, my vision still lined with blue. He takes a few steps towards me, his boots slipping slightly on the icy floor.

"Well?" Ridge asks. His feet lifting up off the floor as he hovers a few inches above the ground. Looking down at me.

"..Just.. Just tell me why I'm here.." I choke out, my voice refusing to sound as frustrated as I feel.

"I would but.. That'd spoil it. You not knowing makes it so much more fun." Ridge says calmly, shaking his head slightly as he speaks. "And besides. It's interesting. Seeing you struggle. I've learnt something too. I wonder if you've noticed it." He pauses for a moment, sitting cross-legged in the air he waits for me to speak. But I don't. "No? Odd. I thought you would have. Shall I tell you? Yeah. I think I will. When you lose your temper your magic starts to grow stronger to the point that it's almost overloading you, and you actually seem to have some control over it. Even if you still don't know _what_ you're doing. You suddenly can cast the spells pretty easily." He says rather quickly, a strange smile pulling at his lips as he looks at me, his eyes still rimmed with gold, and I can't figure out why. They don't usually glow when he flies.. "Well. I suppose this incident proves that last time wasn't a fluke."

"Last time.." I mutter. Not expecting Ridge to hear. But he does, and he nods, his smile grows wider as he replies.

"Indeed, Martyn. You remembered what I said about Toby. You _must_ remember what followed that little conversation." I look away from him as everything starts to click into place. How I ended up sprawled out across the floor with a sore head and a nasty pain in my chest. Why I felt like I'd been fighting someone.. I'd fought _him_.. Heh.. Most people would never dare fight Ridge even if their life depended on it. And then there's me, who's apparently done it twice in the same day.. Not sure if that's a good thing or not... "You're awful quiet all of a sudden, Martyn." He adds after a couple of awkwardly silent minutes. Tilting his head slightly as he leans forwards, his elbows on his knees. Still waiting for me to speak. But I don't know what to say.. 

I start re-running everything I remember about that conversation in my head. How Ridge called Toby a coward. How he taunted with me Toby's supposed magical ability. How he'd asked me if I was afraid of him.. How I'd asked _him_ if he was afraid of _me_.. That must have been when I started throwing ice at him.. Or he started throwing spells at me and I retaliated. There was gold and blue light. His magic comes out gold and mine comes out blue. So we both used spells. Though I have a feeling he may have hit me round the head with the hilt of his sword, not a burst of magic..

I swallow hard as I look up at him again, before slowly and carefully getting back onto my feet, leaning against the wall for a moment as I regain my balance. Ridge stands up straight, though he's still floating a few inches off the ground,  and watches me cautiously. A smirk appears on my face as the crackling cold sensation begins to flow through my fingers again. Filled with an odd mix of fear, anger and pure desperation I glare at the man in front of me before I speak.

"Do I scare you, Ridgedog?" My voice sounds awful confident, considering I don't feel remotely confident in what I'm doing right now.

"No." Ridge snaps back almost instantly, his eyes narrowing at the mere suggestion of him being afraid of someone.. Or because he's trying to figure out what I'm doing..

I wonder, if I were to run and not stop for anything, then maybe, just maybe, I'd find a way out. Or at least get a better idea of where I am. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to run before the adrenaline runs out and I can barely breath. I'm already physically and mentally exhausted despite having done very little for quite a while,  my knees and arms hurt from where I fell and I'm just stiff and ache all over from lying around on the hard floor of my cell.. But I _know_ that Ridge won't kill me if I'm caught. He'll beat the shit out of me, sure. But he won't kill me. So what have I got to lose..?

I meet the demigods gaze and feel my smirk grow wider as it shifts into a sly grin that probably rivals Ridge's own, before snarling. " _You should be._ " Before I even know what's happened, I've thrown both my hands out in front of me, launching a massive surge of mist, which quickly solidifies into ice, down the corridor towards Ridge. No doubt he was expecting this, or something like this, as the gold in his eyes flares up and he crosses his arms in front of him, presumably casting some kind of protection spell as the wave of ice cascades around him. 

I don't spare a second to watch though, I quickly turn on my heel and dash round the corner and off through the shadows down the corridor. The only light coming from the dim torches and my bright blue glowing eyes..

I hear Ridge yelling after me - well, it sounds like he's yelling, but his voice almost seems to echo off the walls all of a sudden, so he probably isn't - and I feel like I should hear footsteps too, but chances are he's flying, if he's chasing me at all..

As I turn around another corner I hear another voice, familiar, though I can't quite place it right now, and I see a light at the end of the corridor. The silhouette of someone holding a torch in the distance.

"Ridge.. What's going on..?" The new voice says quickly, I can only just hear them, their voice is much softer than Ridge's, but still frightened and confused. I see gold light flash behind me and hear something slip on the ice before Ridge's voice echoes down the dark corridor again.

"Just stop him!!" I can only assume that they have some kind of comms system since there's no way that Ridge heard them when I barely did, even with his stupidly sensitive hearing.. But something is nagging at me, Ridge can teleport, he does it all the time, so why is he running or flying after me? Does he want me to think I have a chance? Hmm.. Probably..

"Him? Who's.. Oh.. Shooot, Ridge the corridor is freezing, and the person running towards me is _not_ you, oh Gods.." The figure says, their voice gradually growing faster and more panicked. I see them rummage through their pockets with their free hand and pull something out, raising it to their lips. Milliseconds later the ear-piercing scream of a whistle flies down the corridor. 

I don't want to stop running, but I can't see any way of getting around the person in the way, so I slow down to a jog, before stopping completely about six feet from the person.

"..Martyn.." They mutter as they look at me, moving the silver whistle away from their mouth, and tucking it into the top pocket of their deep blue jacket.

"Mexxy." I say breathlessly as I realise who it is standing in front of me. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised to see the sailor with Ridge.

"..Oh Ridge.. What have you done...?" Wait, _he didn't know I was here?!_ Why wouldn't Ridge tell his own co-workers? _What is going on!?_ He sounds so scared and almost disappointed, he seems to be talking to himself, though something tells me Ridge can still hear him loud and clear.. I don't understand. I always thought Mexxy was Ridge's right-hand-man. Why wasn't he told about me being here..? ..Unless.. This is even more serious than I thought.. Something Ridge couldn't even tell the people closest to him..

There's no response from the demigod. Everything goes silent. And all I can hear is my own heavy breathing. I glance over my shoulder and see Ridge floating down the corridor towards us. His eyes glowing fiercely. I don't want to let him get too close to me, but if I try to run past Mexxy he'll probably grab me. Running towards Ridge would completely defeat the point of what I'm trying to do.. 

I look back at Mexxy, who's staring at me, smokey-grey eyes wide and shimmering in the torch-light. I raise my right hand slightly in front of me, quickly spotting the magical mist sparking around my fingers again. Mexxy sees it too, and goes to take a step back, but stops when his boots slip on the ice that's formed beneath his feet, staggering slightly as he regains his balance.

Almost without thinking, I aim another bolt of magic at the sailors feet, he jumps backwards, avoiding the shot, but slipping on the ice and falling flat on his back. There's a loud thud and I can hear the ice crack as he lands. His torch flies from his hand and lands a few feet from him, still burning. 

I don't stop and wait though, I jump around the fallen sailor, crouching down to grab the torch as I go. The heat from the flame feels prickly against my skin, but I pay no attention to it.

"Sorry.." I mutter as I pause for a moment, not really sure if I mean it or not. Before standing up again and continuing to run down the corridor. 

I glance over my shoulder a few moments later to see Ridge helping Mexxy to his feet, and once the blue coated man is up on his feet and steady again, Ridge resumes his chase. Gold light still flickering in his eyes. He's flying after me, though no faster than he would run. I don't get why he's doing that, he can fly at stupid speeds and teleport with ease. What is he playing at..?

I don't have much magic left, those spells I've been using may not have been entirely intentional but they've still drained my reserves pretty quickly. I can still feel the tingling cold in my hands, so the overcharge hasn't been completely used up. But I doubt it'll last much longer.. I would say 'I'll have to use it wisely'. But I don't think that's really possible. Sure, I can cast the spells. But the power of them is currently beyond my control..

"Martyn Littlewood get back here _right now!!_ " Ridgedog's voice echoes down the corridor after me. He's not shouting but his voice is still loud. I ignore him though. I see a couple more flashes of gold light coming from behind me, a burst of magic shoots past me and hits the wall a little way ahead of me. Did he miss on purpose? He could have easily hit me then.

I turn around slightly, almost running sideways as I look at how far from me Ridge is. I'm not sure why, but I throw the torch at him, it flies down the corridor, and he stops in his tracks as it seems to hit him, or, if nothing else, it hits some protective spell he put up around him. I take this chance to sprint around the next corner and off into the darkness. It won't be hard for Ridge to follow me, I'm still leaving ice trails everywhere I go. But since he seems to be taking it slow, the more distance I can put between him and myself the better.

I keep running. I don't dare slow down. My whole body aches but I _can't stop_. My heart is pounding and I can barely breath but I _can't stop_. My legs are screaming for me to slow down but I _can't stop_. 'Cos if I do. Ridge will _catch_ me. And even if he won't _kill_ me. He _will_ _hurt_ me..

What have I gotten myself into..

"Ok, _that's enough!_ " Says that deep voice that won't leave me alone. There's another bright flash of gold and something hits me from behind, right between my shoulder blades. A sharp pain shoots through my body and the air in my lungs is suddenly not there anymore. ..The impact doesn't launch me forwards but I can still feel myself falling.. ..What little light there is in the passage fades before I hit the ground..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super long chapter is stupidly long o.o  
> Oh well. What's happened to Martyn then? Hmm? You'll see.
> 
> What is it with me and cliffhangers..


	13. Moved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Martyn's POV
> 
> Hey look, I wrote a chapter of this, it only took me, like, five months..

"Oh, I think he's waking up. Ridge, I think- Oh. No. No maybe not. No. Never mind. I thought that maybe-"

 

Everything's a blur. Both my memory and the world around me. I know what I did though. I know why I'm here. Wherever here is..

Gradually, everything comes into focus. I've been moved somewhere else. This place is unfamiliar. A large, round room. The floor seems to be made of dark wood, the walls are made of stone. It's very bright in here. But not warm enough to bring me out of my winter form. I'm still blue. Which is just fantastic..

I'm on my knees, my hands chained above my head. My shirt is gone. My sandals too. I feel exposed. And I'm not so keen on that. The injuries Ridge inflicted on me have vanished, healed over, leaving nothing but faint marks on my skin. More scars to add to the batch. Marvellous.

It's been.. Two days? Maybe? I'm not sure.. Since I last had something to eat. I'm hungry, though not as much as I feel I should be. Which is odd, but I guess the last thing on my mind at the moment is eating. I'm not sure if I could even keep anything down right now anyway.

I'm tired. Drained of just about everything. Aching all over. My back hurts, a peculiar sort of prickling heat across my skin, which isn't pleasant. My legs are sore from all the running I, somewhat foolishly, partook in, whenever it was, this morning? Yesterday? An hour ago? I don't know. I don't have any concept of time anymore.

There's little gadgets on the floor, about six feet away from me, surrounding me in a circle. I'm not sure what they do, but that's where the ice forming beneath me stops spreading. Hmm. It would seem that Ridge has taken precautions this time

Now my vision's come back properly, I can see someone stood at the other side of the room. They're standing still, blending in with the stone walls. Is that.. Bebop?

It is Bebop! He doesn't seem to be active though, or maybe he's resting.. Can robots rest? Little guy's just sort of stood there regardless, head down, completely still. I wonder why he's here. Well, why he's in here with me anyway. Can't say it's that much of a surprise that he's with Ridge. Pretty sure the demigod built him, so who else would he be with. Still. Why is he in here, but not awake? Maybe he's a guard. Just in case I somehow try to make a run for it again..

I'm so tired. So, so tired... I just want to sleep. Rather than constantly drifting in and out of consciousness. But there's not much I can do about it... I just want all this to be over.. Why can't this just stop...? Why can't Ridge just let me go home....?

I'm so tired... So tired... So tired...

 

"Hey Martyn."

_...Mmph... ...Go away..._

"Come on now, wakey wakey."

_...Leave me alone... I'm sleeping.._

"Martyn? I know you're in there somewhere. Come on now, open those lovely blue eyes of yours, we need to talk."

_..Go away you creep... Go 'way.._

Everything is way too bright and his voice is way too soft. It's all gone blurry again. I can't focus. Where am I?

"Martyn?"

The only sound that leaves my mouth in response is a tired groan. My eyes flicker open. Blue lining my vision for a moment as my eyes adjust to their own light, blocking it out. His face comes into focus, close to mine, too close, I can smell his aftershave, it's pungent and not pleasant. I don't like it. I can see tiny flecks of gold in his dark eyes too. Why is he so close to me?

"Martyn? Hello there. Welcome back." He smiles, sweet and soft with almost straight teeth. His voice like silk. Notch, I hate him..

I try to speak, but no words leave my throat. I just end up staring at him. He moves away slightly, though he's crouched down in front of me and so doesn't really move more than a few centimetres.

I look around him, and see that Bebop is still stood at the back of the room. He's active now. His visor glowing a dull red. Still standing motionlessly though. Watching. Mexxy doesn't seem to be here. Probably off doing something else. Hmm. I wonder what Bebop knows about all of this..

"Not speaking then?" Ridge says, still watching me. I just stare. "No? Ok. I'll speak then." He pauses for a moment as he stands up straight, straightening his long coat before looking back down at me. He seems so much taller when you're not stood beside him.. Hmm. I wonder if I could stand right now..

"You know why I've moved you. Don't you." That's not a question. What does he want? "You misbehaved, Martyn. And you shouldn't do that." His smile fades for a moment and he almost looks solemn, though it doesn't take long for the sly smirk to come back. "Now don't get me wrong, it was _spectacular_. Really. The way you handled all that excess magic, the way that you thought you could get away. That you could fight _me_." His voice drops into something much darker at that last part, but the smile returns again soon after. " _Marvellous._ Truly _marvellous_. But," He pauses again, his smile vanishing. Replaced by a slightly more aggressive look, his voice is level though, calm as ever. "you didn't need to attack Mexxy. And whilst I'm impressed by your bravery in attacking me. That doesn't change the fact that it was a _foolish_  thing to do. Though really, Littlewood, you should already know that." Of course I know that. How _stupid_ do you think I am?!

He looks as if he's waiting for me to say something. I don't. I'm not sure if I can. I stay quiet. He just watches, staring with dark, gold littered eyes. Why is there gold in his eyes? His magic isn't active, is it? Or.. Is it another precaution? Is he worried that I'll try and run again?

"You're very quiet at the moment. Aren't you Martyn. Not like you at all." He shakes his head slightly as he speaks, an almost disapproving look crossing his face. "Not speaking? You were rather talkative last time I saw you." I just scowl at him. I'm not talking to him. I just want him to leave. He waits for a few moments, sharp eyes still watching me.

"Fine." He scoffs after a couple of minutes of silence. Turning away from me slightly, but still looking at me, not taking his eyes off of me. "If you're not going to talk now, then I'll come back later. Honestly Martyn. You are allowed to talk to me." He pauses for a moment. "Just as long as you watch what you say." He adds, before turning his back to me and heading towards the door, hard-soled boots making his footsteps loud against the wooden floor. "Come on Bebop, we've got work to do." He says simply as he passes the little robot, who's still stood at the back of the room. Ridge doesn't stop to see if Bebop has followed him, he heads straight out the room, the door closing behind him.

I wonder if Bebop will speak to me. Probably only if I speak to him first. ..Wwait.. What if Ridge has altered his programming -he can probably do that, it wouldn't surprise me if he could- to make Bebop think that what he's doing is ok..

Bebop looks at me for a moment longer before turning away, he's about to head after Ridge when I decide that talking to him might be useful.

"Bebop." I say as loud as I can, which isn't very loud at all. My voice quiet and rough, my throat hurting at the strain of trying to talk. I'm not sure if he's heard me. But then after a few seconds he turns around again, looking at me. He tilts his head slightly, the red light of his visor seeming to brighten.

"Martyn?" He says. An electronic crack popping into his voice. I'm surprised that hasn't been fixed, if it weren't for that he'd sound pretty much human.

"Bebop. Please. _Please_ , help me." I say slowly. Watching the little robot closely. He turns to face me fully, standing straight, hands at his side. His head dips down slightly and he shakes it, the light of his visor dimming again.

"Negative, Martyn. I can't." He says simply. I always forget that he can't say 'yes' or 'no'. I don't know why he can't or why Ridge hasn't sorted it out. But he can't say it. Maybe it's just a robot thing. I don't know.

"Why? You can't think that what he's doing is right, can you? Unless he's tampered with you. Is that what he's done, messed with your programming so that you think that this is ok?" I say very quickly, my voice a little louder. I try to find my footing, try to stand up. But my feet aren't gripping on the ice, which is annoying.

"Don't be ridiculous, Martyn. Of course he hasn't." He says quickly, his voice taking on a lighter tone as he walks towards me, stopping at the edge of the circle of ice. "However, he has informed me of what he's doing and I do understand why he's doing it, and that it's for the greater good." He continues. So, has he been lied to? Or is Ridge's reasoning for all of this really justified.. Also, 'greater good'. What the _actual fuck_ is that supposed to mean?!

"How is torturing me and putting my life in jeopardy for the 'greater good'?! And why did he tell you and not Mexxy?" I respond somewhat sharply. I probably shouldn't be asking these questions, but I honestly don't care at this point, I just want to know as much possible, and see how much Bebop will tell.

"I was only told a few hours ago. But I think Mexxy has been vaguely informed after what happened yesterday. Your life isn't at risk here though, you're not going to die. Nobody is." I reckon he'd be smiling right now if he could, his voice has taken on an almost reassuring tone if nothing else.

I go to reply, but don't get a chance, Ridge's voice sounds from outside, calling for Bebop, the little robot acknowledges him before turning back to me for a moment.

"I need to get going." He says simply. "Everything will be back to normal soon." He adds before turning away, he starts to walk towards the door.

"Bebop. Please." I call out, as loud as I can, which is currently no louder than my usual speaking voice. He stops and turns his head to face me, but doesn't speak. "I-I know you're just a machine, and you probably don't understand human emotions or morals or stuff like that properly but.. but please, _please help me_ , you can't _possibly_ think that this is ok." I continue, I can hear my voice shaking and I hate it. But there's not much I can do. Bebop turns around again, the red light coming from his visor brightens slightly as he taps his metal fingers together in front of his chest.

"I understand and experience emotion more than you may think, Martyn." He says simply, nodding ever so slightly as he speaks, he looks down at the ground for a moment and almost seems to sigh as his hands return to his sides, looking back up at me slowly before he continues. "And I understand that you are suffering greatly at Ridge's hands. But I, I can't help you. I can only assure you that this will all be over soon. That everything will be ok, and that nobody else will he hurt." His voice is quite flat all of a sudden, the electronic crackle much more prominent than it usually is. I try to speak, but no words leave my mouth. "I need to leave now." He says after a few moments, an odd firmness to his tone. "I can't keep Ridge waiting." He adds, before turning on his heels and quickly leaving the room before I can speak again.

I stare at the closed iron-door for a moment before sighing and looking down at the ground, closing my eyes, thinking. Did I learn anything from what just happened?

Maybe that Bebop is more similar to Ridge than I first thought. That Ridge doesn't seem to have told anyone that I'm here. And that, supposedly, there is a perfectly justifiable reason for me being here..

Why do I find that last bit so hard to believe? I don't see how there could be an acceptable reason for Ridge kidnapping me. I mean, sure, this is Ridge, ' _unpredictable_ ' doesn't even begin to cut it. But even so.. Not knowing is just making everything worse.. It's just putting stupid ideas in my head.. Most of them seem pretty far-fetched when I think any further into them... But I'm starting to worry that this has something to do with Toby's supposed Dark magic. I.. I think I believe what Ridge said about that.. It doesn't seem true and Ridge is renowned for being a trickster but.. Well, stranger things have happened.. Probably.. And he seemed pretty serious about it... It's not _nice_ , not at all, but.. I guess it's not _impossible_..

I'd like to know what caused it though. I'm pretty sure Dark magic essences don't occur naturally, or if nothing else, they're stupidly rare. So if this whole thing is real, h _ow the hell did it get there?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try and get this updated more regularly, but I dunno, we'll see what happens >


End file.
